Head coach Bill Keating was right on the mark several weeks ago when he pointed to district rivals Holy Trinity Episcopal and Pine School as the main postseason obstacles for his St. Ed’s varsity boys soccer team.
The Pirates closed out 2015 with a 6-1-1 record in District 10-1A by dispatching John Carroll for a second time in district play. This latest 5-1 victory was an encore to a 3-1 win in early November. That lone district defeat was a tight 3-2 loss to Pine School, and the first meeting with Holy Trinity resulted in a 1-1 standoff – and those were precisely the two schools coach Keating had named as the team’s main rivals.
“We had a great start, but a couple of injuries to key personnel and our youth caused us to struggle a bit,” Keating said. “But a good win on the road against John Carroll before break showed our progression as we improved during the game and pulled away at the end.
“This should be a good sign for us coming into the last part of the regular season. We have a big game at Holy Trinity this week that will determine first place in the district. We hope to be peaking at the right time.”
St. Ed’s was 8-2-2 overall going into the grinder on the road at Holy Trinity right out of the gate in 2016. Afterwards the only remaining regular-season district match vs. Master’s Academy will also be Senior Night on Jan. 8. Two games the following week lead into the quarterfinal round of the district playoffs Jan. 19.
Expectations are always high for a soccer team coached by Bill Keating. An elevated standard also applies to this year’s St. Ed’s varsity girls soccer team coached by Jaclyn Pancotti. Even though both squads feature a lot of underclassmen in key starting positions, based on performances to date, district championships are not out of the question. The long holiday layoff should not be a negative factor for either team.
The girls also finished 2015 on a positive note. They prevailed by a score of 3-0 in the first game of a girls-boys doubleheader vs. John Carroll on Dec. 11 in Fort Pierce. Pancotti’s team entered play in 2016 at 8-1 overall, 7-0 in District 10-1A.
The top seed in the district tournament has been wrapped up, but events will unfold quickly this week and next. The Pirates face Fort Pierce Westwood and John Carroll in rematches at home this week to conclude the regular season. The district tournament semifinals are scheduled to begin Jan. 13.
Four of the eight wins have been shutouts, and the girls have allowed only one goal each in the other four. That shows a solid defense that opponents have clearly found difficult to solve.
The offense has done its part to the tune of 39 total goals. Even including the lone defeat (4-0 to Boca Raton Christian in November), the scoring differential through 2015 favored the Pirates 39-8.
“I just want the girls to have fun,” Pancotti said. “Everyone is working together to achieve the common goal. There is no individual saying I hope I get more stats than someone else.
“They keep looking back to last year (12-2-3 with a second-place finish in the district tournament) and know what we can achieve this year. That keeps us focused on January.”
