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Postseason Soccer Update: FWB boys, girls advance to finals; SoWal, Niceville boys still alive

seth stringer, northwest florida daily news
·3 min read

What an upset.

From the depths of 2-12-2, the Vikings continued their season by knocking off top-seeded Escambia in a 4-2 shootout after a 0-0 stalemate in the District 1-5A semifinal. Now, while Escambia (13-4-1) turns its attention to the state playoffs as the team is in line for an at-large bid ranked fourth in the region, the Vikings turn their attention to second-seeded Arnold Tuesday night in the championship.

Action from the Niceville - Fort Walton Beach girls soccer match at Niceville.
Action from the Niceville - Fort Walton Beach girls soccer match at Niceville.

FWB and Arnold tied 2-2 in their only regular-season meeting. The winner earns an automatic playoff bid.

District 1-4A semifinal

South Walton 8, Wakulla 0

South Walton has long been considered on the short list of 4A state favorites. Monday's 8-0 win over fifth-seeded Wakulla in the District 1-4A semifinal only affirms that.

The Seahawks' lone blip remains a 2-0 loss to Niceville way back on Nov. 10. Every since, they're 10-0-2 and will host second-seeded West Florida for the District 1-4A title on Thursday at 6 p.m. The Seahawks are ranked No. 2 in 4A behind only Bishop Moore.

District 2-6A semifinal

What appeared to be a lock preseason now appears to be in doubt.

Yes, Niceville and Navarre will currently have to play the waiting game to determine their playoff fate. Second-seeded Niceville lost 1-0 to third-seeded Chiles in the District 2-6A semifinal, while third-seeded Navarre was defeated 1-0 by second-seeded Pace in the District 1-6A semifinal.

Niceville is currently ranked seventh in the region. Navarre is ninth. Only four at-large bids advance after the four district champs.

District 1-3A semifinal

No. 1 Pensacola Catholic 3, No. 4 Walton 1

Yana Penzone, Jordan Bartlinski and Ella Cage each scored to lift the host Crusaders past the Braves at Gorecki-LeBeau Stadium. Bartlinski added two assists while Bartlinski had one of her own.

Lily Rodriguez posted five saves in net to collect the victory.

Pensacola Catholic (13-3-3) now has a chance for payback. The top-seed will face No. 2 North Bay Haven Academy at 6 p.m. Tuesday for the district title. The Buccaneers defeated the Crusaders in last season’s District 1-3A Final.

BOYS SOCCER

District 1-5A tournament semifinals

FWB 2, Choctaw 0

Fort Walton Beach High School soccer coach Mario Rodriguez watches his team from the sidelines during Thursday's home game against Niceville High School.
Fort Walton Beach High School soccer coach Mario Rodriguez watches his team from the sidelines during Thursday's home game against Niceville High School.

The Vikings (8-3-3) are on the cusp of a third straight district title.

Following Monday's 2-0 win over rival Choctaw, all that separates Mario Rodriguez's crew from an automatic playoff bid is top-seeded Arnold (16-0-2) Wednesday on the road.

SoWal, Niceville advance

Second-seeded Niceville (13-3) rolled Mosley 8-0 to advance to Tuesday's District 2-6A championship at Chiles, while second-seeded SoWal beat seventh-seeded Godby 7-0 to set up Tuesday's District 1-4A semifinal at home against third-seeded West Florida.

Both are locks for a playoff spot regardless of the outcome.

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Postseason Soccer Update: FWB boys, girls advance to finals; SoWal, Niceville boys still alive