'The popcorn's popping': Pace girls soccer gets crucial win over district rival Navarre

Pace’s Becca Ryan felt like she was playing with some insider information.

There was less than a minute left in regulation in the Pace-Navarre girls soccer game on Wednesday. Ryan, who competes on a club team with some of the Navarre players, noted that she “knows how to wear them down.”

So with limited time remaining, on a Patriots free kick, Ryan saw how the Navarre defense was lined up. She saw some room on the backside of the Raiders backline, and just hoped they would stay there.

And as soon as Ryan got the inside pass, soaring past Payton Shaw and Daysha Taylor, Ryan knew she was in the clear. All that stood between her and the game-winning goal was goalie Taylor Yamaguchi – and Ryan booted the ball, finding twine.

The Patriots, now having won back-to-back games, secured the 1-0 victory over district rival Navarre at home.

“All I had to do was get that inside pass, get clear from Daysha and I was clear,” Ryan said. “Honestly, I’m just glad we got one in the back of the goal.”

“Becca, that’s the type of player she is. She’s a difference-maker,” Pace head coach Nick Williamson said. “She came through clutch and gave us the goal to go ahead. I’m proud of her.”

The game, for about 99% of the time, was a defensive and goaltender battle. Both Yamaguchi and Pace’s Zoey Mattes kept things knotted, neither one conceding first.

Navarre head coach Rob Simon called it “a good battle” between the two rivals.

But it came down to “a stupid play,” Simon said, on that late free kick that ultimately cost the Raiders the game.

“Just frustrating, is all,” Simon said. “We let them have the ball in the offensive third, then a free kick (from Pace) and we make a stupid play in the middle, and it turns into a breakaway because we don’t use our brains.”

The win for Pace was crucial with the District 1-6A tournament starting soon. Heading into Wednesday’s game, Navarre was at the top of the district standings with the Patriots in second. Both teams have limited contests left in the regular season.

Navarre (10-5-2), which was ranked fifth in Region 1-6A on Tuesday, has three more games scheduled for the regular season. All three are at home, starting next Wednesday with Choctaw. One of those games is a Region 1-6A contest against Chiles next Friday.

“We’ve got to win three games in a row, get a little bit of help to make up for what happened tonight. We had everything in front of us,” Simon said. “We controlled our own destiny. Now we don’t – simple as that.”

Pace (7-4-1), slotting in at No. 6 in the latest rankings, has one regular-season game scheduled on Friday at Pensacola Catholic, but Williams mentioned he wasn’t positive if the game would happen due to pending weather concerns.

“It’s not about how you start. It’s about how you finish. We started a certain way, we hit some bumps and bruises along the way, but we’re finishing strong. … The popcorn’s popping right now,” Williamson said. “The grand finale is about to come. We have to continue to get stronger. Now that we’re at the finish line, we have to finish strong. The last two wins sets it up for us to finish strong.”

‘We’re on our way up’

It’s safe to say the Patriots have had some success to start 2024. Playing just two games since the calendar flipped, Pace has won both.

On Friday, the Patriots topped Gulf Breeze – the 2023 state champion, which beat Pace earlier this season – 2-1. Now, Pace beat the leading district team in Navarre.

“To take down a state championship team, then the following week take down the team that’s first in the district, Pace is on the map, man. We’re on our way up,” Williamson said. “This team is going to be a team to reckon with. I’m excited to see it.”

And if you ask the players, the confidence level is up now. Williamson noted a mindset change for the Patriots, “expecting to win” games now.

“In the past, you ask these kids about the game they have coming up and sometimes they seemed defeated before they even stepped on the field,” Williamson said. “We were talking about it in the school that they were going to win, and they were expecting to win. That’s the mindset that I want them to have, because they can. I believe in them – and they’re starting to believe in themselves. …

“It wasn’t that we had to win, it wasn’t that we needed to win – we came in knowing we were going to win this game.”

Ryan said the past two wins come at a perfect time.

“I feel like our coach before was wearing us down after a loss, but now we have these coaches that boost us every chance they get. It’s a big change,” Ryan said. ““It’s perfect timing with our confidence and helps us a lot.”

Aiding the strong run has also been due to top goaltending from Mattes. Williamson called his sophomore goaltender “an animal.” Wednesday was Mattes’ sixth shutout of the season.

In the game against Gulf Breeze, Mattes had to be pulled out with about 20 minutes left in the contest, Williamson said, after she got kicked in the face.

“As a coach, and as a father, I couldn’t (let her stay in). The first thing she said to me was, ‘I’m dizzy.’ I couldn’t leave her in the game,” Williamson said. “The kid would’ve played with a broken leg. She just wants it so bad.”

Missed connections

Both coaches noted what was plaguing them the entire game was missed passes.

In Navarre’s case, it was the fact that too many passes were “vertical.” Navarre had a few chances in the second half off crosses and corner kicks, but couldn’t find the connecting pass to hit the back of the net.

“There were a couple of prime opportunities where we had a chance to put a head on the ball, or put a volley in on it. It seemed like the ball, all of a sudden, crept up on the player before they were ready, and couldn’t get a clean touch on it,” Simon said. “It’s just the way the game goes sometimes.”

For almost all of the game, the Raiders “did a great job” defensively, Simon said. “It was just a little bit of lost focus on that last bit, and that’s what happens.”

With Pace, Williamson said it was initially an issue between the midfield and forwards. Lots of passes went wide of a teammate’s foot, or had to be cleared with limited room available.

“In the first half, we controlled the pace of the game, but we were just missing the connection between the midfield and up top,” Williamson said. “We had a couple chances. Our shots were from far out.”

However, it was the defense, which “maintained a good shape” throughout the game, that kept the Patriots locked in the contest.

“The shape stayed good and they stayed confident. Our communication was good and our goalie had a great game,” Williamson said. “Once we figured out that link between the forwards and the midfield, it worked out. … I don’t think we were really missing anything. We just had to stay consistent. That’s what happened. Eventually, their backline broke.”

Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on X (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pace girls soccer beats district rival Navarre behind late Ryan goal