- April 19, 2024
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Sandcrab Arianna Roy controls the ball against Spruce Creek. Photo by Michele Meyers
Seabreeze goalie Avery Dellinger. Photo by Michele Meyers
Seabreeze midfielder Kylie Watson. Photo by Michele Meyers
Seabreeze and Spruce Creek salute the flag before the game. Photo by Michele Meyers
Breanna Chesley (10) and Kamryn Learn (16) battle for the ball. Photo by Michele Meyers
Seabreeze's Arianna Roy dribbles through Creek traffic--Kaitlyn Herb (10), Kate Montgomery (17) and Tiona Stone (15) Photo by Michele Meyers
Seabreeze goalie Avery Dellinger. Photo by Michele Meyers
Kylie Watson (1) and Tia Mercedes (12). Photo by Michele Meyers
Kaitlyn Herb (10) vs. Carly McNerney (7). Photo by Michele Meyers
Sandcrab Morgan Long stops Spruce Creeks' Kaitlyn Herb from scoring. Photo by Michele Meyers
Hector Vasquez (17) and Ryan Domon (11). Photo by Michele Meyers
Save by Spruce Creek goalie Ethan Houle. Photo by Michele Meyers
Seabreeze's Hector Vasquez hits a header out of the box. Photo by Michele Meyers
Drew McNerney scores the first goal against Spruce Creek. Photo by Michele Meyers
Aiden Lanier (18), Matthew Womack (Center) and Christian Koch. Photo by Michele Meyers
Spruce Creek's John Mikhaeil (12) and Sandcrab Charlie Triplett. Photo by Michele Meyers
Seabreeze girls’ head coach Eli Freidus loaded their schedule with the toughest teams at the start of the season. The best team they played last season was the team they lost to in the last game. He did not want that to happen again. They faced some of the top teams in the state and country—Fleming Island, Ponte Vedra, Bartram Trail and Oviedo. His team went 1-5 but have since rallied and are currently on a four-game winning streak.
“I really believe we are going to have a good team this year,” he said. “We wanted to play the best competition. I wanted them to see all these really good teams so they would know how to play against them. I may have overdone it at the beginning of the season when they went 1-5.”
“It was a little adjustment in the midfield. To me, Kylie Watson was the game changer. She started owning the middle of the field. Every ball that came through the midfield, she was on it.”
ELI FREIDUS, Seabreeze girls soccer coach
One of those games was a 5-0 win against Spruce Creek on Thursday, Dec. 8. Olivia Chase kicked the game off with a goal from deep in the box. Brianna Chesley and Arianna Roy followed up with two goals each. Freidus believes midfielder Kylie Watson changed the pace of the game.
“It was a little adjustment in the midfield,” he said. “To me, Kylie Watson was the game changer. She started owning the middle of the field. Every ball that came through the midfield, she was on it.”
Seabreeze boys followed with a win of their own after the girls’ game at the Hawks’ nest. Andrew McNerney and Hector Vasquez scored one goal each breaking a decades long losing streak for the Sandcrabs on Creek soil. They walked away with a 2-0 win.
“I’ll just say the Seabreeze versus Creek rivalry is always an exciting match filled with hard play and nerve wracking moments,” Seabreeze head coach Jon Kinsler said. “The ball fell our way this year and I applaud Spruce Creek for a hard fought match. We look forward to many more great matches versus them in the future.”
Spruce Creek soccer coach Keith Costner directed his players from the sidelines the entire match.
“I thought we played well, particularly in the second half,” he said. “Just could not finish. Seabreeze is very well-coached and have a very good team. They deserved to win.”
Seabreeze girls followed up with a 2-0 win against Merritt Island on Tuesday, Dec. 13 and are currently 5-5 for the season. The boys tied their game on Friday, Dec. 9 against Ponte Vedra and now have a 5-1-3 record.
