BROOKSVILLE – The Nature Coast girls soccer team (20-1-2) dominated the Rockledge Raiders 5-0 Thursday night in the Class 4A Regional Quarterfinals, advancing to the regional semifinals. Freshman duo Aurianah Whittaker and Kinsley Peters combined for four goals while goalkeeper Kennedy Rasmussen recorded another shutout to extend the Sharks’ winning streak to seven games.
Whittaker made her biggest impact early when the game remained competitive. After junior Hayden Bleser scored less than four minutes into the match, Whittaker delivered her first goal less than 10 minutes later. At 12 and a half minutes into Thursday’s quarterfinal, the talented freshman took a pass to the right and lofted a shot from the boundary of the goalie box just beyond the outstretched hands of the goalkeeper.
“Aurianah played very well this evening. She played really strong on the ball and found her space and managed to put a couple in the back of the net,” Sharks Head Coach Amy Mainella said. “In a regional game, that is what you want, right?” Peters added a goal off a corner kick with three and a half minutes left in the first half, capitalizing on the team’s practice focus this week.
Whittaker iced the game nearly 21 minutes later in the second half, using her speed to bolt past defenders into a wide-open field with only the goalie in her way. The phenomenal freshman deftly sidestepped the goalkeeper at the last possible moment to score her second goal. She nearly completed a hat trick but narrowly missed additional scoring opportunities.
“We worked on corners this week,” Coach Mainella said. “We managed to get one in off a corner. So, we worked on that this week too, on set pieces. So, that was good that we were able to get that in. I feel like what we went over in practice this week we executed in the game.” The Raiders finished their season at 8-8-1 while Nature Coast continues their championship pursuit.
Originally reported by Hernando Sun
Sources: Hernando Sun
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