Coming into this season, the one relatively unknown girls soccer squad in Class 4A-District 8 was Wiregrass Ranch.
After a 1-0 loss at home to district opponent Freedom on Dec. 6, the Bulls (7-4) are proving they aren’t ready to just be brushed aside even if they didn’t match the Patriots (5-2-1) step for step.
“I think it was a pretty even battle,” said Freedom coach Jenna Ball. “I feel like we had a lot of opportunities, we just weren’t capitalizing on our opportunities. We know the things that we need to work on and we’re going to get back at it tomorrow and work on it, because we have such a strong district.”
Jenna is referring to a district that includes four playoff teams from last year, including the Patriots. Steinbrenner, the defending 4A state champions, and Wiregrass Ranch finished as their respective district champs, while Gaither snagged a runner-up spot.
Despite feeling her team missed a number of chances, Jenna had to be happy when her Patriots got on the board with the first and only goal in the 21st minute thanks to a shot by senior forward Jenna Stiling.
The Bulls had some close calls, and junior goalkeeper Dayton Wetherby had a clean sheet after Stiling’s goal — including a nifty one-handed save off a bullet aimed at the upper left corner of the net in the 69th minute from Hanna Seybold — but Wiregrass Ranch couldn’t sneak one past Patriots senior keeper Emily Ball.
“Sometimes we depend on her a little too much and that kind of shows,” Jenna said. “She did an excellent job and it’s just great having such a leader in the back for us.”
Emily added, “There’s always a rivalry, especially with goalkeepers you know in the area. When one makes a good save, you want to make a good save. But you have to keep composed in the second half.”
In the 60th minute, the Bulls came agonizingly close to tying, but Seybold helped out Emily by using her body to deflect the equalizer.
Wiregrass Ranch stepped up its game in the second half, tallying several scoring opportunities.
“Quite honestly, I just think we didn’t play with enough intensity early on and I think it took too long for us to bring up our intensity,” said Wiregrass Ranch coach Erin Dodd. “Had we played the way we played the entire second half the whole game, maybe it would be a different outcome.”
Wiregrass Ranch hosted Hudson on Dec. 12, but results were not available by press time.
The Bulls travel to district rival Gaither on Tuesday, Dec. 13, the same day Freedom takes on 4A-8 opponent Chamberlain. Both games start at 6 p.m.
