Horizon falls hard to defending champs
Horizon’s girls soccer team did all it could Tuesday afternoon to hold off an aggressive opponent at the FHSAA state tournament.
But defending champion Plantation American Heritage was too much to tame at Spec Martin Stadium in DeLand. The Hawks (15-41) struggled to keep pace as the Patriots (15-3-1) scored four times in the second half to win 4-1 in a Class 5A state semifinal.
American Heritage, ranked No. 23 nationally by MaxPreps, finished with a 17-2 advantage in shots but could not break the scoreless tie until 12 minutes into the second half. The Patriots first found the back of the net on a cross from the right side to the far post. They added the decisive goal with under 18 minutes remaining.
Horizon converted on a rare shot on goal with nine minutes to go off a corner kick when junior Mackenzie Ruel got a foot on the ball after it bounced off the back of an opposing player.
Jordyn Norwood netted her second goal for the Patriots four minutes later to make it 3-1 and essentially put the game out of reach.
Senior Ella Henderson played admirably at goalkeeper for Horizon while making 11 saves amid constant duress. American Heritage plays North Fort Myers (18-30) in the championship game Friday at 4 p.m. North Fort Myers won 3-0 vs. Tallahassee Lincoln (16-6-1) in the other semifinal.
Horizon, in its third season as a program, finished 11-4-2 in 2021-22 and 14-4-2 in 2022-23 as regional tournament participants.
On Thursday, Windermere High and West Orange compete in separate Class 7A boys state semifinals in DeLand. Windermere (16-11) takes on unbeaten Boca Raton (22-0-2) at 4 p.m. West Orange (13-4-1) faces No. 1 seed Doral Academy (15-2-2) at 7 p.m.
Winners advance to Saturday’s championship game at 7 p.m.