Girls high school soccer: P.K. Yonge falls to nationally top-ranked Bartram Trail 7-0

The P.K. Yonge Blue Wave girls' soccer program didn't initially plan on seeing the Bartram Trail Bears this season.

However, when the Bears approached the Blue Wave asking if they'd be interested in meeting on the pitch and it just so happened that both programs' schedules allowed for the matchup, P.K. Yonge head coach Rebecca Shackow and the Blue Wave agreed.

The impromptu meeting between the two teams happened on Tuesday night in a match that saw Bartram Trail top P.K. Yonge 7-0.

Were there any regrets on the Blue Wave's behalf? Absolutely not.

"I knew what I was saying yes to," Schackow said.

Schackow and the Blue Wave knew coming into Tuesday's home match that they were welcoming the No. 1-ranked team in the country, according to MaxPreps.

"They're up for anything," Schackow said of her team. "People came back early from vacation to be at this game ... My little group of young players, they're just hungry."

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Here are takeaways from the Bears' visit to the Blue Wave.

Five first-half goals set the tone for Bartram Trail

Coming into Tuesday's match, the Bears had five different players who had tallied five or more goals on the season.

Bartram Trail senior and Florida Atlantic commit Olivia Bori led the Bears with 10 goals. By the end of her visit to Gainesville, Bori added two more as she scored the first two goals of the match.

Bori's first came on a header after 1:15 of game clock had expired. Nine minutes later, she found the back of the net once again, giving the Bears an early 2-0 lead.

P.K. Yonge would successfully force Bartram Trail into a scoring drought through the next 20 minutes, only to suffer a collapse in the final minutes of the first half.

Bartram Trail's next goal came with 6:40 to play in the first half as junior Carolyn Johnson scored off a corner kick.

Johnson's goal would be the first of three in a span of three minutes as she and senior Texas A&M commit Grace Ivey each added another, giving the Bears a 5-0 lead in the first half.

The Bears added a pair of second-half goals thanks to seniors Sophia Magdalein and McKenzie Smith.

P.K. Yonge rookie Norah Pancoast is settling in

Both figuratively and literally, P.K. Yonge freshman Norah Pancoast is a keeper.

Pancoast was thrown into the fire as an eighth-grader last winter when the Blue Wave's starting goalkeeper went down with an injury during the postseason.

"That ignited something in her last postseason," Schackow said. "From the day our season ended to right now, she has been working on her own around the clock, just working to get better. She's learned everything she can about being a good goal keeper."

And all of Pancoast's work has seemingly paid off as she put together what Schackow calls her best game of the season.

Through the relentless attack from Bartram Trail's talented offense, Pancoast tallied 11 saves on the night.

Bartram Trail loss serves as measuring stick for Blue Wave

P.K. Yonge's players were bummed following Tuesday night's loss, Schackow admits.

And while losing is never fun and is certainly never the goal, the Blue Wave understands there's a lot it can take away from their loss to the Bears.

"We definitely need to get better at set-piece defense," Schackow said. "And anticipating some things on the field a little more quickly. We just need to see it. So we'll break down game film."

The good news is that P.K. Yonge won't have to see Bartram Trail again this season as the two programs compete in different classifications.

However, since Bartram Trail previously played Lakeland Christian this season, the Blue Wave is able to use Tuesday's loss as a measuring stick. Lakeland Christian won the Class 3A state title last year, which is the same classification the Blue Wave competes in.

"It was a close game," Schackow said of Bartram Trail's 1-0 win over Lakeland Christian. "So that puts it into perspective. Like, hey, if we ever want to make it to the state tournament, if we ever want to win state, this is how good we've got to get. So it gives us a picture of it."

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Top-ranked Bartram Trail girls soccer team tops P.K. Yonge 7-0