Girls soccer: Tampa Prep returns to final four

Sometimes, a team needs a slice of luck to get a game to go its way.

Tampa Prep got exactly that, returning the Terrapins to the Class 2A state final four for the third straight season.

Mackenzie Logan's 59th minute goal gave the Terrapins a 1-0 victory against West Palm Beach King's Academy Friday night. Logan picked up the ball on the right, and from 40 yards was looking to angle a ball into the penalty area for one of her forwards. Instead, the ball skipped off the slick turf and over the head of Lions backup goalkeeper Kristy Louissaint into the net.

"This feels great," Logan said. "It's probably one of the happiest days of my life."

Terrapins coach Cindy Schofield had a perfect view of the goal, shot from close to her bench, and as soon as Logan struck the ball, Schofield saw what was going to happen.

"I knew it," Schofield said. "As soon as she hit it I was like, 'It's going to go in.' With the surface, you never know."

Louissaint was in the game because Lions starter Rachel Spell had to leave the game with an injury at halftime. Spell collided with Terrapins forward Colby Maffei as both went for a 50-50 ball in the closing seconds of the first half, leaving her unable to recover.

Lions coach Glenn Martin was disappointed, but didn't use the injury as an excuse for the goal.

"Kristy ... has played just as much this year as (Spell)," Martin said. "They're both very good goalies, and it was just an unlucky skip on the ground, and got over her head."

The biggest difference in the game, though, was Logan and the rest of the Tampa Prep defense. Goalkeeper Jordan Hatton made a pair of key saves in the first half while the rest of the defense, led by Amber Miller and Lauren Knoke, clamped down on the Lions forwards, especially after taking the lead.

"I thought our back four, all of them deserved MVP tonight," Hatton said. "They played terrific. Defense wins championships, and tonight a defender scored. It was amazing."

While trying to raise her side's confidence after their region semifinal win against Bradenton St. Stephen's on Tuesday, even Schofield was nervous before the game. The Terrapins didn't appear nervous once it began, though, passing well even if lacking the same menace as King. As the half wore on, though, the Lions began to take control, Jennifer Collins making a cutting run into the penalty area from the right only to have her shot to the near post saved by Hatton.

The Lions' Gilda Doria then had a pair of shots from outside the penalty area, Hatton retreating on the second as she retreated to tip the ball onto the crossbar just before halftime.

Getting to the half scoreless was critical, according to Schofield.

"We were scared, I think," Schofield said. "We had been hearing so much about how good they were, and ... we didn't believe in ourselves because we hadn't had many big wins this year. I told them, 'Now you can believe in yourself, you are a good team,' and I think that got them going, but we were definitely scared in the first half."

The Terrapins showed more energy after the break, Miller intercepting passes to snuff out opportunities before they developed and Knoke using her speed to beat attackers to the ball and gain possession. The Terrapins also looked more energetic going forward, and while Maffei was unable to take advantage of her best opportunity at the end the first half, she and Caroline Cheek maintained pressure on the Lions defense, threatening to add to the lead on the counter-attack late.

The Terrapins will return to Pepin Stadium at the University of Tampa to try to win their second state title in three years, and their first under Schofield.

"I'm just so happy for the girls," Schofield said. "This is just such a good group of girls, and to reward them with another trip to the final four, I'm so excited for them."