Mariner girls cruise to 8-0 regional soccer win
Acosta's hat trick, two assists help lead Tritons past St. Petersburg
The road to defending a state championship started with a dominating win for the Mariner girls soccer team Tuesday night.
The No. 1 seed in the FHSAA 5A Region 3 bracket dispatched of its opponent in convincing fashion, as the Tritons (15-4-1) toppled No. 8 seed St. Petersburg 8-0 in a shortened match.
Mariner scored roughly 30 seconds into the match and never looked back, led by junior and University of Florida commit Ryleigh Acosta’s hat trick and two assists.
“We’re taking it one game at a time and we’re not looking ahead, and we’re not looking back,” said Mariner head coach Jami Hagy, now in her sixth season as head coach. “We’re focusing on each game individually.”
Senior captain Sarah Paddock opened the scoring in the first minute for the home squad as she dribbled past and through defenders into the penalty area and landed her shot. In the 12th minute, freshman Kelsi Longbardi notched Mariner’s second goal, as she beat the keeper to a 50/50 ball in space and took a shot that went off the far crossbar and in.
Shortly thereafter, Acosta lined up to take a free kick about a yard outside of the penalty area, and couldn’t have struck the ball any better. Her shot cleared the wall of defenders and slotted perfectly in the top right corner of the net.
“I knew the free kick was a crucial chance for us,” Acosta said of her dazzling goal. “I just knew I had to finish the chance so we can continue our season.”
The Tritons connoted to pour it on in the first half when in minute 19, freshman Carly Paz sped past the Green Devils’ back line and fired a shot past the keeper. Nearly 10 minutes later, senior captain Kira Wilson headed one in off of an Acosta corner and took a 5-0 lead into the break.
Hagy said at this point in the year, there’s no time to take any opponent lightly. This was somewhat of a statement win for Mariner after losing a heartbreaking district final to North in penalty kicks last week.
“We worked hard in practice,” Hagy said. “Obviously we came off that PK loss and the girls were ready to go.”
Mariner did not take the foot of the gas in the final 40 minutes (though they would not all be needed), as Acosta netted her second of the match just a minute into the second half, as a nifty passing sequence found her one-on-one with the keeper, and she didn’t miss her mark. In the 60th minute, Acosta found the back of the net once more, completing the hat trick.
“It felt really good, especially after the loss against North,” Acosta said of her and her team’s performance. “We came into tonight wanting to play our best and how we always play.”
Sophomore Caroline Pelkofski drilled a long-range shot past the St. Pete keeper just after the 60th minute to end the match at 8-0 and send Mariner into the regional semifinals Friday night. The Tritons will host No. 4 seed Naples at 7 p.m.
“We’re going to just try and rest up and focus on our game plan for the next team, and go get the job done,” Hagy said.
If both Mariner and No. 2 North Fort Myers (hosting a regional final versus Baron Collier) advance, both clubs will meet again in the regional final on Feb. 14.
As for what it will take to repeat as state champs, Acosta said, “Just taking it one game at a time and playing our brand of soccer.”
— Connect with Associate Sports Editor CJ Haddad on Twitter: @haddad_cj