The 2023-2024 Lady Dolphins Varsity Soccer season has finally come to an end.
The ladies fought through every up and down, and the team and coaches couldn’t be prouder of how it ended.
The Dolphins played Pace in the district semi-finals but came out with a loss to PK’s (penalty kicks).
Everyone was devastated, with all hope lost that they would even come close to winning the State Championship. Tears were streaming down everyone’s faces as the final whistle blew.
Not long after the game against Pace, the team found out they could still be a high enough ranked to compete to win Regionals.
The dolphins continued to train, even though they were not 100% sure they would still compete. But when they got the final word that they just made the cut, they girls were ecstatic.
The coaches, Albert Gatica and Bill Hendricks, decided to change up the formation of the play to prepare the ladies to play their biggest competition, Ponte Vedra. The last game the Dolphins played against Ponte Vedra, they lost 4-0. So, they knew what to expect.
Through 3 weeks of tough training with this formation, the ladies became more and more prepared to play. The bus ride to Ponte Vedra is a long 5.5 hours, so the girls had time to mentally prepare. When they arrived, they were mixed with emotions. Some excited, some nervous, some revengeful.
“Leave it all on the field girls… We are so proud of how far you’ve gotten.” Coach Hendricks said.
When the game started, Gulf Breeze was doing a really good job holding back Ponte Vedra. The new formation was based on defense, so it was harder to get goals when everyone was in the defensive third.
Towards the end of the first half, Ponte Vedra scored a goal. And around the middle of the second half is when they scored their second goal. Gulf Breeze ended up losing the game 2-0, which put them out of the competition to win Regionals.
The girls, yet again, were devastated. “It was hard seeing all the seniors in tears. It’s sad that their last ever high school game had to go down like this.” Freshman, Julia Stanley says.
Although the 2023-2024 season has ended, the girls have created love for each other, friendships and most importantly memories to cherish forever.