- November 5, 2024
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NEPTUNE BEACH — The Flagler Palm Coast girls soccer team is heading into rare territory.
FPC and Fletcher have met in the regional playoffs each of the past five years. Tuesday night was the sixth meeting in six years, and one lone goal by Christen Barney was the difference-maker, sending the Lady Bulldogs to the Class 5A regional championship.
With the 1-0 win on Tuesday, coach Pete Hald’s side is headed to the Elite Eight for the third time since 2009. The team also made it in 2010.
“It felt so good to finally beat them,” Barney said after playing 80 minutes in cold, rainy and windy weather. “This was our third year playing them, for me, and they beat us both times. It feels good to be on the other end.”
The Lady Senators (16-4-3) came out and pressured the ball into the penalty box early and often, dominating most of the possession in the first half. But FPC’s backline stepped up, Hald said.
Hald said the win helped both offenses.
FPC (19-3-5) had much more possession in the second half, which led to Barney breaking away down the sideline in the 56th minute, beating the goalkeeper in a one-on-one and slotting the game-winning goal.
Fletcher responded with a handful of threatening scoring chances, including a shot that hit off the post.
Hald was screaming and shouting from the sideline over a frantic final few minutes until the final whistle.
“They’ve all been close, one-goal games, and last year I thought we were the better team but lost 5-4,” Hald said.
FPC will host Oviedo 7 p.m. Friday in the regional championship. Oviedo, the defending Class 5A state champs, come into the match with a 17-4-2 record, according to maxpreps.com.
“We have one more game and then it’s the Final Four,” Barney said. “The Final Four is what we’ve been working for all year. We’re almost there and can pretty much see the state championship ring. Now we’ve just got to work hard and win a couple more games.”
