Mavericks return ‘key pieces’ for repeat

Arch. McCarthy hopes to build on breakthrough

After falling short of capturing the program’s first state title for two consecutive years, the Archbishop McCarthy Mavericks finally managed to put their demons to rest last season, raising the 5A state championship trophy at Spec Martin Stadium in DeLand.

Reaching the state semifinals in

2018, the Mavericks fell to Estero

5-4. The next year, they made the state title game in 2019 only to be beaten by Montverde Academy 1-0.

They finally reached the pinnacle by beating Ponte Vedra 2-0.

Archbishop McCarthy (22-12) returns a few key contributors from a year ago, hoping to orchestrate another potential championship run.

“Last season was the culmination of the previous two seasons of making it to the final four to only be heartbroken at the end,” Mavericks coach Mike Sica said. “We had so much going into the championship game, we knew what we needed to do. Our seniors had been through so much. They weren’t going to be denied.

“This season, we definitely have a lot of talent,” Sica said, but we are overall a young team. Fortunately, we still return some key pieces from the championship run, but we have new faces. It’s going to take some time to make it all fit together to get where we were in February.

Graduating 10 seniors from last season, the Mavericks will be led by junior forward Sophia Goetz and senior forward Lili Katz.

Tied for the team lead in goals, Katz comes back after collecting 17 goals and six assists in the 25 games she appeared in. Goetz tallied 14 goals and also contributed with six assists.

In the cases of the Cardinal Gibbons Chiefs and the Cypress Bay Lightning, both teams are still in the search of their first program title, being defeated in the state championship the past two seasons.

Led by their Sun Sentinel girls soccer players of the year, Cardinal Gibbons and Cypress Bay are in the right shape to go back to the state championship.

Cardinal Gibbons’ junior forward Sydney Polivka, who earned the Sun Sentinel’s girls soccer 5A-2A player of the year award last season, headlines the Chiefs’ roster after being a crucial part of the team’s success for the last two seasons.

Scoring eight winning goals last season, Polivka has scored 37 goals and dished out nine assists over her career.

Falling to Jacksonville Bishop Kenny in 2020 and Jacksonville Bolles in 2019, Chiefs coach Margo Flack believes the previous losses have made her team become increasingly more hungry to return to the Class 4A state championship .

“They were both very different years,” Flack said. “Two years ago, we looked at it as we’re so lucky to be here and then I think last year, walking away, we looked at it as this one really slipped away. The girls walking off the field last year it left a different taste in their mouth. I think it left a feeling of I cannot wait to be back on the field and work to have a chance to be back here again.”

Senior middle fielder Deborah Bien-Aime also will be a threat for the Chiefs, posting 10 goals and three assists last year.

Cypress Bay’s senior forward Megan Morgan — the Sun Sentinel’s Broward 7A-6A player of the year — will be at the helm of another state title run for the Lightning, who lost in the Class 7A state finals against Bartram Trail (2020) and Palm Harbor University (2019).

Transferring to Cypress Bay after spending her freshman year with American Heritage, Morgan, who will be attending FSU for her collegiate career, compiled a teambest 32 goals and 13 assists.

“She came to us as a sophmore and we knew all about her,” Cypress Bay coach Kate Dwyer said.

“Her sophmore year she was more of a quiet leader. When we got to the state championship, she did not show up. She kind of hid and didn’t do much. And last year, we just played awful. She literally tried to carry the team on her back. She played unreal. She really is just one of those quality players.”

Junior goalkeeper Jada Avick returns after starting for the Lightning the last two years, recording

1,215 minutes, 13 goals against and

18 shutouts last season.

For Boca Raton, junior forward Jada Fernandes and junior defender Emma Mossey look to fuel the Bobcats back on another postseason run.

The Bobcats (13-3-4) had their sucessfull season cut short in the Class 7A regional finals, losing to Venice Beach 1-0.

Placing first on the squad in goals (9) and assists (9), Fernandes proved she possessed the killer instinct, scoring the game-winning goal against the then No. 1 team in the state, American Heritage.

Anchoring Boca Raton’s defense, Mossey helped the unit allow just eight goals in the 20 games, while compiling 13 shutouts.

“Emma Mossey, Alex Sanchez, Kat Bielec and Gianna Perez were kind of maintaining our defense,” Boca Raton coach Rachael Grimes said.

“They were some of the best defenders around last year so I think that we should be in a pretty good situation defensively. Jada [Fernandes] had a really good year for us attacking so I expect the same from her this year.”

Suncoast forward Guilianna Johnston returns for her junior campaign with the Chargers, looking to improve off her record-breaking season.

Johnston racked up a county-high and school-record 62 goals along with 34 assists to pace the Chargers (15-1-5) to the Class

5A regional semifinals, where they were handed an early postseason exit with a 3-1 loss to Bayside.

Having scored 159 goals in 21 games last season, the Chargers will also look to senior forward Samantha Benavides to help compensate for their seven graduated players.

“Last season was the culmination of the previous two seasons of making it to the final four to only be heartbroken at the end.”

— Mike Sica, Archbishop McCarthy girls soccer coach