New Smyrna Beach, Matanzas boys, Seabreeze girls start FHSAA soccer playoff journeys

Following a week off, Volusia-Flagler's three soccer playoff qualifiers finally return to the field Tuesday night.

Seabreeze's girls and the boys teams from New Smyrna Beach and Matanzas compete in FHSAA regional quarterfinals, with all games scheduled for 7 p.m. kickoffs. All three squads lifted district championship trophies at the start of February, and both the Sandcrabs and the Barracudas booked first-round home playoff dates.

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Here's a look ahead to Tuesday night's games where the winners will advance to Friday's semifinal round.

Region 2-5A girls soccer quarterfinal

Wesley Chapel (11-9-0) at Seabreeze (10-6-1)

Seabreeze pushed itself with a treacherous out-of-area schedule all the way through mid-January, and was eventually rewarded in the stretch run with six consecutive victories. The Sandcrabs cruised past Deltona and Matanzas by a combined 16-0 margin to take the District 5-5A championship. Sophomore Olivia Chase caught fire to close the season, scoring eight of her team-high 17 goals in the Sandcrabs' last three matches.

Wesley Chapel averages just over three goals per game, led by Jesseniah Joseph with 13 on the year. Ali Goines and Dashi Heimbach have chipped in eight apiece, while freshmen Natalia Portman and Violet Capps have shared time between the sticks, posting a combined 2.43 goals against average.

Region 2-6A boys soccer quarterfinal

Heritage (7-3-3) at New Smyrna Beach (23-1-1)

With 23 wins in 25 matches, New Smyrna Beach looks to get over the hump at win its region for the first time in school history. The Barracudas are healthier this time around with leading scorer Weston Desoto (25 goals, 10 assists) firing on all cylinders, and supported by Brooks Beeman out wide (16 goals, 14 assists) and Hugues Iguaran (10 goals, 16 assists) in central midfield. Defender Joel Smith and goalkeeper Dylan Dongilli anchor a unit that has conceded just 10 goals all year.

Heritage enters the postseason unbeaten in seven road games this season, with four wins and three ties. The Panthers' lone defeat since Dec. 15 was a penalty-kick shootout in the District 7-6A final against Sebastian River.

Matanzas (11-4-2) at River Ridge (15-3-1)

Riding a five-game winning streak, Matanzas has allowed just one goal defensively since the start of January. Sergio Posada and Landon Grover both topped double figures in the goal-scoring department, while Diego Bernardi is on nine after a two-goal performance in the District 5-6A final against Seabreeze. Julius Pollock leads the Pirates with eight assists.

Matanzas will need to find a way to slow down River Ridge senior Jimmy Pedraza, who has a team-high 22 goals and ranks second with 12 assists. Marko Maric has contributed 15 assists, while Michael Canizio fired home 10 goals with a further eight assists. The Royal Knights are just two seasons removed from a spot in the Class 5A Final Four.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: High school soccer: Previews for Volusia-Flagler regional quarterfinals