District 1-2A: Bay, Pensacola Catholic advance to final

PANAMA CITY — As it turned out Wednesday at Tommy Oliver Stadium, the finalists for the District 1-2A girls soccer tournament could have been selected through the seeding process.

Top-seeded Pensacola Catholic had no trouble eliminating Bozeman 7-0, and No. 2 host Bay dispatched South Walton 5-0 as they earned berths in the championship game 7 p.m. Friday.

The results followed form with the higher seeded team having won all four games thus far in the tournament, and all by shutout. Bay will try and disrupt that pattern against Catholic, which defeated the Tornadoes both times during the regular season.

Bay 5, South Walton 0

The Seahawks already had seen Bay junior Sarah Judah twice this season, but those appearances had been as a midfielder.

When coach Blythe Carpenter moved the Judah to forward for their 1-2A semifinal, South Walton initially didn’t appear to adjust to Judah’s speed.

The result was a pure hat trick in the opening 27 minutes of the game, each goal assisted by junior Jessica Harris.

“We’ve been playing together since third grade, so we know exactly what each other is going to do,” Judah said. “She knows when I’m about to make a run and tonight she just laid it off.”

Each time Judah overlapped to the outside and stormed up the left wing. The Tornadoes (13-6-1) dominated the opening 20 minutes and Judah was able to score twice from sharp angles, going over the top against keeper Michaela Garcia, then beating her low to the far post.

When Judah made it 3-0 in the 27th minute Bay was well on its way to another rematch with Catholic (18-5-1), which was 10-0-0 in the district.

“It’s going to be a challenge, but if everyone plays like they played tonight … they’re not unbeatable,” Judah said of the Crusaders.

Laura Valcourt gave the Tornadoes a 4-0 edge at halftime when she broke in free on Garcia and scored, despite tweaking her left ankle on the play.

The Seahawks (9-8-0) had a goal by Aleeza Kempton waived off in the 17th minute because of a hand ball in the penalty box. They also got the ball past keeper Nikki King on a shot by Brantley Manning early in the second half, but defender Kaylee Pettibone kept it off the line.

Emily Bruekner completed the scoring in the 69th minute when she belted in a rebound after Garcia had made a fine save on Kiera Butler.

• South Walton 0 0 — 0
• Bay 4 1 — 5
• First half: 1. Bay, Sarah Judah (Jessica Harris) 3rd minute, 2. Bay, Sarah Judah (Jessica Harris) 18th minute, 3. Bay, Sarah Judah (Jessica Harris) 27th minute, 4. Bay, Laura Valcourt (Julie Burrier) 35th minute. Second half: 5. Bay, Emily Bruekner (Kiera Butler) 69th minute. Shots: SW 6-7-13, Bay 15-15-30. Shots on goal: SW 3-5-8, Bay 7-7-14. Corner kicks: SW 0-1-1, Bay 6-2-8. Saves: SW 2-6-8 (Michaela Garcia), Bay 3-5-8 (Nikki King).

Catholic 7, Bozeman 0

Forget about zumba and training videos. If you really want a good workout, play keeper against Pensacola Catholic.

Two nights after a restive first-round victory against Marianna, Bozeman’s Alyssa Delaplaine was bombarded as the Crusaders launched 52 shots her way, 25 of them on goal.

Delaplaine ranged from post to post, went high on shots labeled for the crossbar and roamed the box trying to keep the Bucks (7-8-1) in the game. Despite many goal-saving efforts, all Delaplaine could prevent was the mercy rule as Catholic easily advanced in the first semifinal.

The Crusaders, who reached the region final or beyond the past four years in Class 3A, have dropped into 2A this season. Although past nemesis Bolles also is now in 2A, Coach Breck Bankester thinks she has the right blend to produce an extended postseason run.

It was apparent early that Bozeman had no remedy for the young Crusaders’ skill and cohesive attack. Bankester played only one senior, but had six players score as University of Florida commitment Katie Richmond was the only player with two goals.

Richmond sat out the final 29 minutes after her second tally opened a 5-0 cushion. Bethany Balette and Sophie Goyins finished the onslaught with late goals.

Kaitlin Lockridge and Laura Inclan joined Richmond in scoring as the Crusaders led 3-0 at halftime. Bozeman’s chief threat was a set piece off a corner kick in the first half by Becca Hall.

• Catholic 3 4 — 7
• Bozeman 0 0 — 0
• First half: 1. PC, Kaitlin Lockridge (Talia Leonard) 14th minute, 2. PC, Laura Inclan (Katarina Kurtts), 22nd minute, 3. PC, Katie Richmond (Katarina Kurtts) 29th minute. Second half: 4. PC, Emily Loakim (Sarah Boles) 44th minute, 5. PC, Katie Richmond 51st minute, 6. PC, Bethany Balette, 55th minute, 7. PC, Sophie Goyins, 68th minute. Shots: PC 24-28-52, Bozeman 0-1-1. Shots on goal: PC 14-11-25, Bozeman 0-0-0. Corner kicks: PC 4-4-8, Bozeman 1-0-1. Saves: PC 0-0-0 (Gretchen Cagle), Bozeman 11-7-18 (Alyssa Delaplaine).