- November 25, 2024
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At the start of the Spruce Creek girls soccer team’s junior varsity match against Flagler Palm Coast on the night of Tuesday, Jan. 9, Hawks coach Edson Abadia thought the conditions were playable.
Rain barley drizzled from the dark gray sky as the players took the field at FPC’s Sal Campanella Memorial Stadium.
“But it just kept raining and raining and raining,” Abadia said. “Players were digging up the field with their cleats, and all of the sudden, puddles started to emerge.”
By about the 25-minute mark in the first half, the field was so sopping wet, the ball wouldn’t roll.
“You’d kick a ball, and it’d just come to a dead stop,” Abadia said.
The Hawks’ varsity squad, which is 12-0-1 on the season, will have to be patient to play its first game of the new year, as the Hawks’ game against the Bulldogs was postponed due to unsafe field conditions. And because it is a district game, it will have to be rescheduled. Although an official time has not been announced, Abadia said the makeup game will likely be played sometime next week. The Hawks’ conclude their regular season on Jan. 16, and the district playoffs occur the following week.
“We have to play them. There’s no way around it,” Abadia said. “It’s a very important game for us because it’s going to determine if we can maintain our No. 1 seeding for the district tournament. There’s not a lot of flexibility right now.”
But despite not getting to play against the Bulldogs, whom Spruce Creek defeated 2-0 on their home turf earlier in the year, most of the players were overjoyed that they didn’t have to play in the foul weather.
No one was happier than Hawks forward and leading goal scorer Jordan Di Verniero.
Di Verniero had her wisdom teeth removed on Friday, Jan. 5.
She still has her stitches in.
“My mouth is huge,” she said. “I’m not sure how I was going to play tonight.”
Di Verniero said she hasn’t been cleared to practice since her surgery but might be ready to go by next week. However, the Hawks face solid programs in DeLand on Jan. 11 and University on Jan. 12.
DeLand, which is 12-7 on the season, features a dynamic freshman in Julia Cunha-Comin, who could prove problematic to the Hawks’ undefeated record, especially without Di Verniero on the field.
“She reminds me of somebody who plays for us,” said Abadia, referencing Di Verniero. “We’re going to be ready for her.”
