FHSAA girls soccer playoffs: 5 local teams advance including Tocoi Creek, Seabreeze

ST. AUGUSTINE — Persistence paid off for Sophia Vaughan, Isabelle Pinlac and the rest of the Tocoi Creek Toros.

Vaughan broke a scoreless deadlock with a spectacular individual goal in the 36th minute, and Pinlac ignited a four-goal outburst after the second-half water break as the Toros defeated former district rival Fernandina Beach 5-0 in a Region 1-4A quarterfinal Tuesday night.

Tocoi Creek (10-7-1) will host Stanton, a 2-1 winner over playoff newcomer Beachside, in Friday's semifinal round.

"It feels fantastic. The girls have worked hard, and we've had a lot of ups and downs throughout the season but I think we're in a very good place right now to keep advancing and taking it one day at a time through the playoffs," Toros head coach Jay Shepherd said.

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Vaughan, an Oklahoma commit, started the contest on the bench after missing training Monday. She made a near-instant impact with her pace, gliding past three Pirate defenders and sliding in the night's opening goal on a lung-busting run starting around the midfield stripe.

Pinlac provided a necessary bit of insurance in the 63rd minute, breaking through after having three earlier shots saved and another strike the post. She found a rebound inside the box and sent it goalward. The ball took a massive deflection off Fernandina Beach defender Sydney Tremaroli and into the net.

Vaughan described it as a well-deserved bit of fortune, while Pinlac was finally able to relax — and laugh — after an evening's worth of close calls.

"It was definitely a relief, and it was kind of funny," Pinlac said. "Needed one."

Six minutes later, the Toros iced the match when Kalli Robinson kept a ball alive along the end line and put it on a tee for Peyton O'Keefe to smash home. Robinson and Vaughan tacked on goals within the final three minutes.

Seabreeze 8, Freedom 0

ORMOND BEACH — Kylie Watson exhaled and then grinned.

“Like a weight lifted off my shoulders,” the junior said. “... Once we get to regionals, I feel like it gets super real.”

It was real Tuesday, with her top-seeded Seabreeze Sandcrabs playing in the Region 2-5A quarterfinals. They handled the eighth-seeded Freedom Patriots with ease, though.

The host Sandcrabs (14-7) tallied seven goals in the first half and invoked the mercy rule with an eighth just 2:15 into the second half. They now advance to the regional semifinals — where their season has ended the past two years — and will play No. 4 Horizon on Friday.

Hannah Howell and Brianna Chesley finished with two goals apiece. Watson, senior Nickole Dane and sophomores Cora Clayton and Arianna Roy each notched one.

“The girls actually came out with a little nervous energy in the beginning, but once we calmed down, they played great,” Sandcrabs head coach Eli Freidus said. “Our girls are playing really well right now.”

Stanton 2, Beachside 1

JACKSONVILLE — For Ciara Wiesner, the most memorable 18th birthday present might have been the one she gave to her teammates.

The Stanton senior midfielder's 30-yard shot seconds before halftime floated into the net for a game-winning birthday goal, lifting the host Blue Devils past first-year opponent Beachside in a Region 1-4A girls soccer quarterfinal.

"Being tied 1-1, I feel like any chance you get, why not take it?" she said.

The Blue Devils (9-7-2) had seized the early lead on a similar long-range blast by Emma Griner off a fourth-minute free kick, only for the Barracudas (9-5-2) to tie the game on an own goal.

The loss ends a strong debut season for the Barracudas, who repeatedly threatened the net after halftime but couldn't beat Blue Devils sophomore keeper Savannah Yerger. Peyton Thomas, Emma Martins and Mackenzie Mason all had second-half shots denied.

"With the season we had, being a No. 3 seed right off the bat, it's a credit to the kids' hard work," Beachside coach Ron Messick said. "They really worked hard and we've set the path for Beachside to be strong for years to come."

Lincoln 8, Menendez 0

TALLAHASSEE — Few teams in Florida have been as hot as Lincoln.

The Trojans not only won their district, claimed the No. 1 seed in their region, and have gone 6-0-2 in their last eight, but have not been scored on in almost a month. In their last five, Lincoln has outscored its opposition, 14-0.

The Trojans bumped that margin to 22-0 in their Region 1-5A opener, mercy-ruling Menendez to advance to regional semifinals for the first time since 2020. Senior Paige Churchill, signed to play at Flagler College next year, is responsible for eight of the Trojans' last 16 goals scored — including five against the Falcons (7-9-0).

"These girls prepared and they came in ready to go," Trojans head coach Jono Williams said. "I don't think it mattered who we faced, we were ready for it. We've got to continue to turnaround and continue to do it again."

Creekside 5, Hagerty 0

Creekside cruised in the opening act of its Class 7A state championship defense. Samantha Colvin and Olivia Surrency scored two goals apiece as the Knights blanked host Hagerty.

Seeded second in Region 1-7A, the Knights (11-5-0) will gain home-field advantage for a Round 2 rematch against Lake Mary. Creekside defeated Lake Mary 2-0 on Jan. 13 behind goals from Hayden Petrick and Alana Maki.

Bartram Trail 3, Winter Park 0

Seniors Olivia Bori, Anna Bachman and Grace Ivey each found the back of the net as Bartram Trail, MaxPreps' No. 1 ranked team in the country, pulled away from Winter Park. The Bears improved their undefeated record to 17-0-2, and booked a regional semifinal date with Apopka.

Ponte Vedra 7, Buchholz 0

Ponte Vedra went one goal better than its regular-season rout of Buchholz in the opening round of the playoffs.

The Sharks (16-3-0) face Fleming Island for the third time on Friday night. Ponte Vedra has scored seven unanswered goals against the Golden Eagles, including a 3-0 victory in the District 3-6A title game.

Horizon 4, Mainland 0

Mainland's first girls soccer playoff appearance since 2006 came to an early end.

Caroline Kozlow scored twice, and Claudia Rodriguez-Medina and Amani Afrifa each netted a goal as Horizon rolled past the visiting Buccaneers (14-4-0) in a battle of Region 2-5A wild cards.

St. Johns Country Day 8, St. Joseph 0

Avery Raimondo scored twice and 11-time defending state champion St. Johns Country Day stayed on course, rolling past St. Joseph (7-8-2). Lauryn Mateo, Sophia Pontieri, Sydney Schmidt, Hannah Melicharek, Bree Barry and Bella DeLeon added goals for the Spartans (17-1-1).

— Clayton Freeman, Chris Vinel and Jack Williams contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: FHSAA girls soccer playoffs: Tocoi Creek, Seabreeze win first-round games