FHSAA soccer playoffs: Seabreeze girls, New Smyrna Beach boys advance in style
ORMOND BEACH — Seabreeze responded from an early shock, scoring three times before the first water break Tuesday night to pull away from upset-minded Wesley Chapel.
Kylie Watson headed home an equalizer from a corner and put the host Sandcrabs ahead less than four minutes later. Annabel Thistle confidently fired home another goal on a breakaway down the left wing, leading to a 4-1 victory in a Region 2-5A girls soccer quarterfinal at the Ormond Beach Sports Complex.
Notching its seventh consecutive victory, No. 3 seed Seabreeze (11-6-1) will travel to second-seeded Auburndale at 7 p.m. Friday in the semifinal round.
Volusia-Flagler boys basketball Three local wild-card teams join district champ Mainland in FHSAA playoffs
"Being down this late in the season is not an option for us," said Watson, a senior midfielder. "It was a little bit lax in the beginning. We were nervous, but I feel like we really stepped up once they scored the first goal and we realized that this could be the end of our season if we didn't."
Madisyn Hill put Wesley Chapel (11-10-0) ahead in the eighth minute with an uncontested poke inside the Sandcrabs' box. Seabreeze seized control for the rest of the half, overturning a deficit into a two-goal lead in the space of eight minutes.
Wildcats goalkeeper Natalia Portman made two important saves on Thistle just before halftime, and another pair shortly after the break to keep her team in the game. Thistle capped the scoring in the 75th minute, thumping home an emphatic goal off the right wing.
"I thought the response was good," Sandcrabs coach Eli Freidus said. "It's good to be challenged like that and to have a chance to come back and persevere."
New Smyrna Beach 5, Heritage 0
New Smyrna Beach started its quest for a Region 2-6A final return with a dominant home shutout of Heritage, its 13th straight win overall.
Weston Desoto opened the scoring in the seventh minute, and finished with a hat trick. The senior is up to 28 goals on the season.
Joel Smith and Lane Robinson added second-half tallies, while Jake Larson and Joey Foreman each contributed two assists.
The Barracudas (24-1-1) advance to the semifinals where they will host Melbourne, a 4-1 victor over St. Cloud.
River Ridge 1, Matanzas 0
Landen Hebb produced the match-winning goal in the 79th minute as host River Ridge eliminated District 5-5A champion Matanzas in a quarterfinal contest.
The Pirates (11-5-2) took 12 shots, but River Ridge goalkeeper Robert Engelke was credited with nine saves.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: High school soccer: Volusia-Flagler FHSAA regional quarterfinal roundup
