All-First Coast coach award: Bradley Plummer, Fletcher

Through the years, through the decades, Duval County's soccer world waited.

Until 2022, an unforgettable year for a Fletcher team that shocked the state's giants.

Fletcher girls soccer coach Bradley Plummer is the Times-Union's All-First Coast coach of the year, after leading the Senators to the Florida High School Athletic Association championship for Class 6A.

Before Fletcher's feat, no Duval County public school had won an FHSAA title in either boys or girls soccer.

"I knew we were going to be talented, but we lost some really important pieces," Plummer said. "We returned Taylor [Sweat] in the goal, and I think the world of her, but we weren't certain about some very key positions."

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The road warrior Senators completed a stunning trip to the top of the state soccer world, winning three regional playoff games on the road on the way to an upset of Miami Lourdes in the championship.

Fletcher knocked out Panhandle power Navarre 3-0, topped Gainesville Buchholz 4-0 and rallied to eliminate Fleming Island 2-1 in a regional spent far from their home at the beach.

This year's team not only ended a Duval drought that extended to the inaugural FHSAA tournament in 1982, but accomplished its championship run with only one player  (defender Bowen Phillips) currently committed to an NCAA Division I college.

In his fourth season at Fletcher after moving from Middleburg to take over from a Duval County soccer giant in Mike Levine, Plummer had kept the Senators' tradition going strong.

But winning a state championship in 2022? That looked like a mountain to climb, especially on a team that returned only three seniors — striker Angelina Madera, midfielder Josey Rossignol and center back Phillips — and lost nearly half of its 2020-21 regulars due to graduation.

Fletcher hadn't even qualified for regionals in 2021, and faced the likes of Fleming Island and Ponte Vedra in its district for the new season. But somehow, thanks to team spirit, cohesive organization, first-rate goalkeeping from junior Sweat and a barrage of opportunistic goals (including 24 from exchange student Sarah Christiansen from Denmark), the Senators accomplished the unexpected.

Everything came together: Sophomore Mia Diaz emerged as a reliable center back, Sawyer Reynolds commanded the central midfield with toughness and reliability and the senior trio developed a solid sense of leadership as the year progressed.

"One we figured out the combination that we needed in the middle, to make the middle sort of run the way it was supposed to, I thought that was what really helped us turn the corner," Plummer said.

This year, Plummer also showed the flexibility to pull the right tactical switches when it mattered most.

Against Viera in the state semifinals, he realigned the Fletcher defense at halftime to limit the incursions of elusive Hawks winger Taylor George, and deployed an extra midfielder to disrupt the passing game. The changes paid off, and Fletcher scored twice late for a 3-1 victory.

Then, in the final against Lourdes, the Senators continued to stand firm with their high offside line, confident that goalkeeper Sweat could weather the storm. Over and over, she slammed the door on the Miami school.

As Lourdes launched more and more players upfield in a bid to score, Fletcher realigned Madera as the most advanced forward, and it paid off: The hard-working senior battled through the Lourdes defense to reach a Diaz long ball and net the winning goal in the second half.

The Senators' season also netted statewide recognition. Plummer won the Florida Dairy Farmers Coach of the Year award for Class 6A after the team's championship.

"It was incredible to represent the Beaches community and Duval County," Plummer said. "That was something that was really special. We were trying to do this for us, but we were trying to do it for the city, too. There have been a lot of deserving teams that came so, so close."

Clayton Freeman covers high school sports and more for the Florida Times-Union. Follow him on Twitter at @CFreemanJAX.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Bradley Plummer, Fletcher girls soccer: 2022 Greater Jacksonville Coach of the Year