Story by: Near Post Sports
Lady Raiders advance to district soccer final with 3-1 victory over Pace.
This punches the team’s ticket for at least two more games – the district championship against Niceville and regional playoffs. Navarre will return to Niceville Tuesday for the title match. Kickoff is at 6 p.m.
The pairing is also a repeat of last year’s district final, which Navarre won. However, the Pace match didn’t start well.
“The first half was rough,” head coach Rob Simon said. “We had a lot of turnovers because we were so flat. In the second half we played better … created lots of opportunities. There were a lot of goals left out on the field. I don’t understand how the ball didn’t go into the back of the net four or five more times.”
They gave up a goal to Patriot defender Ryleigh Avant, who smacked the ball into the net with her thigh off a corner kick.
Things started to settle down for the Raiders after Hunter Wallace buried a penalty kick to tie things up in the 33rd minute.
“We weren’t connecting our passes at first,” said sophomore defender Lillie Golden, who saw a lot of action on the left side of the formation. “It made me busy because it was causing them to move forward onto our half.”
Coach Simon noted a different energy from his players in the second half, which – with a loss – would’ve ended their season.
In the 60th minute, Cami Acevedo’s toe-punt of a loose ball skittered by several defenders and gave Navarre a 2-1 advantage.
Their attack continued to the very end. In the last minute of regulation, Maia Vacks broke through on the right side and placed a right-footer into the left side net for the finishing touch.
“I knew I had some time, so I got a little closer and aimed for the far post,” Vacks said. “If we can play together, simple passes to each other and move, we can get way more chances like that.”
Photos by Stu Camp
