District Soccer: Breakdown of each district as postseason play begins Wednesday
The pressure on the pitch will go up a notch this week.
Wednesday marks the beginning of district play as area teams look to secure their place into the 2024 state soccer postseason.
Last season, the Gulf Breeze girls soccer team used their third-straight district title as a springboard to the Class 6A title. The Dolphins boys also claimed a district title, as did the Pensacola Catholic boys and girls teams.
Can the Dolphins and Crusaders continue to district successful or will new area teams emerge with the crown? Here's a look and a preview of each bracket.
PNJ Soccer Leaderboard: Escambia, Santa Rosa County stats as district play begins Wednesday
Games to watch: See where Escambia and Santa Rosa County teams are playing this week
GIRLS SOCCER
District 1-6A (Gulf Breeze, Milton, Navarre, Pace, Tate)
Where: Ashton Brosnaham Athletic Park
Quarterfinal: Wednesday – No. 5 Milton at No. 4 Tate, 6 p.m.
Semifinals: Friday – No. 2 Pace vs. No. 3 Gulf Breeze, 5 p.m.; No. 1 Navarre vs. Tate/Milton winner, 7 p.m.
District Final: 6 p.m. Tuesday
The local skinny: District 1-6A has shaped up to be the most intriguing district.
Gulf Breeze, the defending Class 6A champion, has to always be considered as a threat regardless of its form. But if there was ever a season that the Dolphins were ripe for the picking, it’s this year as they are not only in danger of missing the state playoffs, they are in line for their first losing season in more than a decade.
Playing for its fourth consecutive district crown, Gulf Breeze holds the final at-large spot in Region 1-6A. Meanwhile, the door is open for Navarre or Pace to steal the spotlight. After falling to the Dolphins just after the Thanksgiving break, the Patriots returned the favor with a 2-1 home win on Jan. 5. Five days later, Becca Ryan booted the game-winner as Pace captured a 1-0 victory over Navarre to avenge a Dec. 5 loss to the Raiders.
That matchup was Navarre’s only blemish over the past six weeks as the area’s highest scoring team rolled toward the top seed behind the play of Cici Buffalino and Emma Barry. Buffalino is second in the area in scoring (17 goals) while Barry is fifth in scoring (14) and tops in assists (11).
District Final prediction: Navarre over Pace
District 1-5A (Booker T. Washington, Escambia, Pine Forest)
Where: at Higher Seed
Quarterfinals: Wednesday – No. 5 Arnold vs. No. 4 Escambia, 6 p.m. No. 6 Pine Forest at No. 3 Booker T. Washington, 6 p.m.
Semifinals: Friday – Pine Forest/Booker T. Washington winner at No. 2 Choctaw, 7 p.m.; Escambia/Arnold winner at No. 1 Fort Walton Beach, 7 p.m.
District Final: 7 p.m. Tuesday
The local skinny: Escambia has clinched a winning record for the second consecutive season. Quite the accomplishment for a program where wins were few and far in between before this surge of success.
Winners of its last four matches, Booker T. Washington enters districts with the area’s longest active winning streak. That string began with a 1-0 win over Escambia. Seventeen different players have scored for the Wildcats this season, led by Sarah Westerheim’s seven goals.
For both teams, a district championship is necessary to advance to the state playoffs as the Wildcats (4.904) and Gators (0.155) are respectively ranked 11th and 14th in the region.
District Final prediction: Fort Walton Beach over Booker T. Washington
District 1-4A (Pensacola, West Florida)
Where: at Higher Seed
Quarterfinals: Wednesday – No. 5 Pensacola at No. 4 Bay, 7 p.m.; No. 7 Gadsden County at No. 2 Wakulla 7 p.m.; No. 6 Godby at No. 3 West Florida, 7 p.m.
Semifinals: Friday – No. 5 Pensacola/No. 4 Bay winner at No. 1 South Walton, 7 p.m.; West Florida/Godby winner vs. Wakulla/Gadsden County winner, 7 p.m.
District Final: 7 p.m. Tuesday
The local skinny: Ranked first in Class 4A and second overall in the state, South Walton is head and shoulders above the competition and should cruise to another district title.
For West Florida, the question isn’t can the team win districts, but rather can it do enough to seal a spot in the postseason. Currently, the Jaguars are ranked sixth in the region and would receive the region’s third at-large bid. A berth into the district title match should be enough for the Jags to continue their season.
That season got off to a horrid start as West Florida was winless through its first six matches. The team has rebounded with a 4-2 mark since. Meanwhile, Pensacola has endured multiple losing streaks, but is unbeaten in its last two matches.
District Final prediction: South Walton over Wakulla
District 1-3A (Pensacola Catholic)
Where: Gorecki-LeBeau Stadium
Quarterfinals: Wednesday – No. 5 Rutherford vs. No. 4 Walton, 5 p.m.; No. 6 Bozeman vs. No. 3 Freeport, 7 p.m.
Semifinals: Monday – Rutherford/Walton winner at No. 1 Pensacola Catholic, 5 p.m.; Bozeman/Freeport winner vs. No. 2 North Bay Haven Academy, 5 p.m. (at Tommy Oliver Stadium)
District Final: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 31
The local skinny: A potential rubber match is on the horizon in this year’s District 1-3A bracket. Over the past two seasons, Pensacola Catholic and North Bay Haven Academy faced off for the championship.
In 2022, the two teams played the first 76 minutes in a scoreless tie before Megan Meyer broke through on a penalty kick for a game-winner goal in the 77th minute to hand the Buccaneers the title. One year later, seniors Yana Penzone, Jordan Bartlinski and Alexis Parscal made the rematch far less dramatic as they were responsible for all the scoring in Catholic’s 4-2 victory.
This year, it may be freshmen that light up the scoreboard for the top-seeded Crusaders.
No girl from the area has scored more goals this season than Addison Manning. Through 15 appearances, she has notched 20 goals. Add in 11 scores from Cate Carlson, and freshmen have accounted for nearly 66 percent of Catholic’s offense.
Behind a Carlson goal, the Crusaders defeated North Bay Haven Academy 1-0 on Nov. 29 in Panama City.
District Final prediction: Pensacola Catholic over North Bay Haven Academy
BOYS SOCCER
District 1-6A (Gulf Breeze, Milton, Navarre, Pace, Tate)
Where: at Ashton Brosnaham Athletic Park
Quarterfinal: Thursday – No. 5 Milton vs. No. 4 Navarre, 6 p.m.
Semifinals: Saturday – Pace/Tate winner at No. 1 Gulf Breeze, 5 p.m.; No. 3 Pace at No. 2 Tate, 7 p.m.
District Final: 6 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 31
The local skinny: The only district made up completely of area teams does not feature a single squad with a losing record. Milton and Navarre each have enjoyed a six-win improvement from last season while Pace is up three wins from a year ago.
Still, it would be a major surprise if any from that trio crash the District Final party. Gulf Breeze and Tate remain the class of the field, although the former enters with an unusual slump. Having dropped their last three matches, the Dolphins have not had a losing streak of that length since the 2018-19 season. In fairness to them, no other team in the state has had a tougher strength of schedule (12.72) this season.
Gulf Breeze looks to regain its form from its 11-0-1 start. Toward the tail end of that run, the team picked up a 5-3 victory on Dec. 11 at Tate behind a hat trick from Lucas Isakson. Also scoring a hat trick that night was Aggies striker Jackson Clarke. The senior star leads the area in scoring by a healthy margin with 24 goals to go with eight assists.
During last season’s District 1-6A Final, Gulf Breeze outlasted Tate 1-0 in double overtime. If the Dolphins can limit Clarke, they’ll likely be on their way to their third consecutive district crown. If not, they’ll need another scoring outburst against an Aggies team that has relinquished six goals over five matches in the new calendar year.
District Final prediction: Gulf Breeze over Tate
District 1-5A (Booker T. Washington, Escambia, Pine Forest)
Where: Choctaw High School
Quarterfinals: Thursday – No. 5 Escambia vs. No. 4 Fort Walton Beach, 6 p.m.; No. 6 Pine Forest vs. No. 3 Choctaw, 8 p.m.
Semifinals: Saturday – Escambia/Fort Walton Beach winner vs. No. 1 Arnold, 6 p.m.; Pine Forest/Choctaw winner vs. No. 2 Booker T. Washington, 8 p.m.
District Final: 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 1
The local skinny: Will history repeat itself? I’m sure Booker T. Washington wouldn’t mind if it did, but that would mean that the program would fall short of a district title.
Last season, the Wildcats fell to top-seeded Arnold during the district semifinals. However, two weeks later, Booker T. Washington rallied from an 0-2 hole during the regional semifinals to hand the Marlins their first loss of that season and end their chances of a state-championship three-peat.
This time around, Arnold (16-0-1) is ranked first in the country, according to MaxPreps, as the team has limited its opponents to one score or less in all of its matches. The Wildcats are ranked 29th nationally after winning their last six matches by a combined margin of 28-4. Sawyer Kuba, Kyle Hunnicutt, Sawyer Kuba and Ethan Koivu have been outstanding during that stretch, with Hunnicutt and Kuba producing 22 and 20 points, respectively, and Koivu collecting three shutouts and 40 saves.
If the bracket doesn’t include any first-round upsets, both squads will have difficult semifinal challenges in Fort Walton Beach and Choctaw. But if they survive that, Booker T. Washington and Arnold are set up to have one heck of a heavyweight title match.
District Final prediction: Booker T. Washington over Arnold
District 1-4A (Pensacola, West Florida)
Where: at Higher Seed
Quarterfinals: Thursday – No. 5 Godby at No. 4 Wakulla, 7 p.m.; No. 7 Pensacola at No. 2 West Florida, 7 p.m.; No. 6 Gadsden County at No. 3 South Walton, 7 p.m.
Semifinals: Saturday – Godby/Wakulla winner at No. 1 Bay, 7 p.m.; Pensacola/West Florida winner vs. South Walton/Gadsden County winner, 7 p.m.
District Final: 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 31
The local skinny: One area team faces a must-win scenario entering districts while the other is fairly safe entering the tournament. It so happens that they’ll play each out of the gate as Pensacola visits West Florida.
The Tigers (4-6-2) are ranked 14th in Region 1-4A with a -3.015 rating. Despite losses in its last five matches, the Jaguars (6-9-2) are ranked fifth in the region with a 5.363 rating. West Florida’s last triumph was on Dec. 20 at, you guessed it, Pensacola. Tyrin Joiner provided the offense for the victors that night as he scored both goals during a 2-1 win.
District Final prediction: Bay over West Florida
District 1-3A (Pensacola Catholic)
Where: at Tommy Oliver Stadium
Quarterfinals: Thursday – No. 5 Rutherford vs. No. 4 Pensacola Catholic, 5 p.m.; No. 6 Bozeman vs. No. 3 Freeport, 7 p.m.
Semifinals: Thursday – Pensacola Catholic/Rutherford winner vs. No. 1 North Bay Haven Academy, 5 p.m.; Bozeman/Freeport winner vs. No. 2 Walton, 6 p.m.
District Final: 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 1
The local skinny: Of the six teams in this bracket, only one comes into districts with a positive rating: North Bay Haven Academy. The Buccaneers are positioned as the overwhelming favorite thanks to a 14-3-1 mark.
Meanwhile, the two-time defending district champions have only won three of 17 matches this season. Pensacola Catholic has struggled through a rebuilding season, but the team has played better as of late. The Crusaders are 1-2-1 in their last four matches, with one-score losses to winning teams Navarre and Walton, a tie against Pensacola and a 1-0 victory over Pine Forest.
District Final prediction: North Bay Haven Academy over Walton
District 1-2A (East Hill Christian)
Where: Franklin County School
Quarterfinals: Wednesday – No. 5 Franklin County vs. No. 4 Rocky Bayou Christian, 5 p.m.; No. 6 Munroe vs. No. 3 Port St. Joe, 5 p.m.; No. 7 East Hill Christian vs. No. 2 St. John Paul II
Semifinals: Saturday – Munroe/Port St. Joe winner vs. East Hill Christian/St. John Paul II winner, 1 p.m.; Franklin County/Rocky Bayou Christian winner vs. Community Christian, 3 p.m.
District Final: 7 p.m. Tuesday
The local skinny: The area’s lone representative is the bottom seed in this bracket. Winless through eight matches, East Hill has been limited to three goals this season. The Eagles have not scored since a 6-1 defeat on Nov. 9 at Pensacola Catholic and have been outscored by a 31-0 margin since.
St. John Paul II, East Hill’s quarterfinal opponent, has captured wins in its last two games, including a 2-0 victory over top seed Community Christian.
District Final prediction: Community Christian over St. John Paul
Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached at (772) 985-9692, on X @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: High School Soccer: Pensacola-area teams begin district tournaments Wednesday
