Girls Soccer Region Semifinals: Mariner, North to meet a third time; ECS wins, Estero falls
A roundup of four girls' regional semifinal soccer games played on Friday, Feb. 10:
Class 5A-Region 3
Mariner 2, Naples 0
Same two teams. Same two uniform combinations. Same result from a year ago.
The rematch of the Class 5A Championship between Mariner and Naples may have been played 195 miles south this year, but it felt eerily similar to last year’s game. The Tritons won 2-0 Friday night, advancing to the Class 5A-Region 3 Championship game.
Ryleigh Acosta got Mariner on the board early, and helped set the tone the rest of the way. After having five quality looks in the first 25 minutes, the junior got a shot past Naples goalkeeper Kelsey Scott to give the Tritons a 1-0 lead in the 30th minute, which they’d carry into halftime. Acosta then dug deep in the closing stages of the second half, adding an insurance goal to double the lead.
“It was a true team effort,” Mariner coach Jami Hagy said. “The girls came together and got through it, together. We focused on our shape all week, and the girls looked a lot better this week. They kept their eyes on the prize.”
Down two starters heading into Friday’s game with Naples, Mariner could ill afford to lose any more players as the opponents continue to get tougher. In back-to-back minutes in the second half, starting right back Keyara Blissett immediately went down after planting her left knee in the grass of Tony McKenna Field. Blissett told those in the vicinity that she felt a pop in her knee.
Just a minute later, starting forward Stephanie Saracione (17 goals, 7 assists) took a hard hit and had to leave the game. She was seen in a sling postgame with heavy taping around her right shoulder. It's unknown whether Blissett or Saracione can return to play this season.
“The first one, we just wanted to come out really strong and prove we deserved to be in the regional championship,” Acosta said. “The second one was for my teammates, especially the ones who were injured and playing through injuries. I just really wanted to do it for them.”
The Bradenton-based officiating crew let both sides engage in physical play and tensions quickly rose in the second half to a point where the game was stopped. Acosta and Naples junior Ava Majury were forced to shake hands to keep the game going.
The first yellow card was assessed midway through the second half to Hagy, as she was pleading with the crew to get the game under control. The lone yellow card given on the field in the 80 minutes went to Mariner’s Kira Wilson for a delay of game after the final water break.
Naples coach Adam Weikel thought his squad hung tough for the duration of the game, but couldn’t get anything going up top. Weikel mentioned that not having senior forward Elaina Loden (knee) for the final three games of the season didn’t give them the experience they needed up top to have a chance at vanquishing the defending champs.
“We came into it with the game plan to stay organized and limit what they can do,” Weikel said. “They’re a good team. They move off the ball. Once we started believing we could do that and having pressure in the right places, pressure disrupts a lot of movement. When you go down a goal, and you’re chasing a goal, it opens things up and it’s almost like what happened last year in the state championship game.
“We were down a goal, and we started chasing a goal, and the back line opened up. We were more organized and intense in this game than last year, which was the goal. They’ve got a player (Acosta) that makes the difference. If we would’ve got a couple more opportunities up top and had a bit more composure, we would’ve got some goals. That’s the name of the game sometimes.”
Scott stayed busy throughout the game, as she denied Mariner’s quality looks for much of the 80 minutes. It was just Acosta, the Florida commit, that had her number twice.
“We didn’t anticipate her getting a lot of the close stuff she had,” Weikel said. “We expected a lot of stuff to come from outside the 18 (yard box). Some did, and I thought in the second half we shored that up a bit. We didn’t allow them to get too deep into the box. Hats off to her, she played great. She sat behind a couple people for multiple years, finally got her shot this year, and she stepped up.
“She’s been top-notch for us. She’s not only a great kid on the field, but she’s also a great kid off the field. She’s got two full-ride scholarships. She’s amazing… I’m really happy with the fight we had this year. When your program is doing well, people start coming after you. We didn’t have any easy games this year. Teams gave us hardly anything, and the girls accepted that, and it’s something you’ve got to live with and move forward with. I’m happy with the way we handled it.”
Mariner’s date with North Fort Myers comes on Valentine’s Day of next week, with the winner looking to advance to the Final Four. For Mariner, it would be back-to-back appearances, while for North, it would be their first appearance since the 2020-21 season.
“We’re gonna be ready,” Hagy said. “We’re focused on team effort, and the girls proved that they could do that tonight. We’ll have our mindset ready, and we’re looking forward to the rivalry game.”
— Alex Martin
North Fort Myers 1, Barron Collier 0
In a win-or-go-home scenario, it’s the win that takes precedence, no matter how it’s achieved.
Out of sync for much of Thursday’s Class 5A regional semifinal against visiting Barron Collier, the North Fort Myers girls soccer team still managed to escape with a narrow victory.
Sophomore midfielder Brianna Sullivan delivered the game’s only goal in the 31st minute, poking the ball in off a scramble following a corner kick by senior Alexandria Spiller.
The Red Knights (14-2-3) did manage to prevent the Cougars from putting any sustained pressure on senior goalkeeper Aliyah Morgan, who was rarely tested in posting her 10th shutout of the season.
Barron Collier (10-4-3) was also forced to play with 10 players for the majority of the second half when junior forward Delfina Morales received consecutive yellow cards, one for a foul and one for not walking over to the referee for a conversation.
Girls Soccer Finals: ECS, Seacrest, Barron Collier, Estero, North, Riverdale are champions
Region Quarterfinals: Fort Myers, ECS, St. John Neumann, Seacrest girls basketball score wins
“It was a miscommunication; she didn’t realize he wanted her to come over,” Cougars coach Aaron Thayer said. “He thought she was being disrespectful.”
Even with Barron Collier down a player, North couldn’t get any additional breathing room on the scoreboard.
“I was hoping with a player down we’d be able to take a little more of the possession but we weren’t able to do it,” North Fort Myers coach Nick Erickson said. “I felt like their energy was better than ours throughout the 80 minutes.”
The Cougars did a solid job of frustrating North’s attack and pressuring the Red Knights with deep throw-ins into the box, especially in the second half.
“We had some opportunities down there that we missed,” Thayer said. “North Fort Myers is an excellent team. You’ve got to bring your ‘A’ game when you play them and I thought we did.
“We did the best we could under the circumstances we could. I’m proud of my ladies.”
With the victory, the Red Knights advance to Tuesday’s regional finals for the sixth time in the past eight seasons. They’ll take on defending Class 5A state champion Mariner for the third time this season. North defeated the Tritons in penalty kicks to win the District 5A-11 championship two weeks ago to avenge a 4-0 regular season defeat.
“I think we have another gear in us and I hope that comes out Tuesday,” Erickson said. “There’s just a different level of intensity with that game.”
— Dan DeLuca
Class 4A-Region 3
Academy of the Holy Names 2, Estero 1
The Wildcats were two minutes away from sending things to extra time, but a Holy Names goal in the 78th minute sent the Jaguars to the regional championship game, where they'll face McKeel for a third time this season.
Freshman Kaitlyn Mancini netted the lone goal for Estero, placing a shot in the back of the net on a free kick in the 55th minute. The Wildcats end their season with a 15-4 record.
Estero sisters Ansley and Kaitlyn Mancini enjoying first (and only) varsity season together
Class 2A-Region 3
ECS 2, Saint Stephen's 2 (4-2 PKs)
The Sentinels needed to go to penalty kicks but prevailed as all four shooters converted their attempts. Gianna Fabrizi, Taylor Foss, Claire Valentine and Alexa Bereczki buried their shots and the Sentinels didn't need a fifth attempt as Saint Stephen's missed on two shots.
In regulation, Valentine scored on a penalty kick and Foss scored off an assist from Fabrizi.
ECS advances to the Class 2A-Region 3 championship game and will travel to St. Petersburg Tuesday to take on Shorecrest Prep.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Girls Soccer Region Semifinals: Mariner, North Fort Myers, ECS score wins
