- November 4, 2024
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After Miracle Porter scored a third time in the first half to extend the Lady Pirates’ lead to 4-0, there was little-to-no doubt that Matanzas was going to repeat as the District 6-3A soccer champions over their rivals, the Seabreeze Sandcrabs, on Friday Jan. 16, at Matanzas High School.
The Lady Pirates (22-2-2) beat the Seabreeze 5-1 and will play the Eustis Lady Panthers in the first round of the regional tournament at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22, at Matanzas.
Porter finished with a hat trick, which pushes her season goal total to 72, four better than last year, and Leanna Ballschmieder added two goals, which were assisted by a dominant mid-field team. Kylie Dalhberg, Karen Rodriquez, Kamila Perez and Payton Tucker each assisted on a score.
“The girls played really well, especially in the first half,” coach Tony Benvenuto said. “They allowed us to take control of the mid field, trying to protect Miracle from getting a lot of space, which I would have probably done.”
When asked about Porter, Benvenuto added, “She makes coaching the offense easy for anybody. By people having to worry about her, it opens up other things all other the field.”
Going into the regional tournament, Benvenuto believes the girls are confident and ready to play the next match, stating that if they execute the way they know how, they should be successful.