Bartram Trail repeats: Bears shut out Cypress Bay for FHSAA girls' soccer title

DELAND — It was the kind of finish Grace Ivey could only dream of.

"It feels so amazing," she said. "I just have the best teammates, and that helps so much."

A state championship game. A hat trick. A historic repeat.

Bartram Trail's Bears are roaring once more.

Striking early and overrunning the nation's top-ranked team in midfield, Bartram Trail defeated Weston Cypress Bay, 4-0, in Friday's Florida High School Athletic Association Class 7A girls soccer championship at Spec Martin Stadium.

Previous coverage:Bartram Trail ready to make it 2 titles in a row

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Sophomore Ivey scored three goals and keeper Bailey Dean sealed off the net as the Bears captured their second consecutive title.

The Lightning employed a variety of tactics in a bid to contain the Bears' mobile midfield of Ivey, Morgan McDonald and Carolyn Johnson, but nothing could stop an athletic and swift-moving Bartram Trail unit that tied Cypress Bay in knots.

"We've been playing so well in possession, and that's what I feel sets us apart from other teams, the way we keep the ball," Bartram Trail coach Jen Rodriguez said.

Only a spectacular effort from Cypress Bay goalkeeper Alexandra Jones, who saved more than a dozen shots, and the crossbar — which denied the Bears four times, including Ivey twice — kept Bartram Trail from running away with the rematch.

Bartram Trail limited the attack of the Lightning (8-1), paced by striker Megan Morgan, to just a handful of chances. Right fullback Anna Bachman, matched up against left winger Morgan, contained the Florida State signee.

"Anna Bachman was phenomenal for us. She's got the speed and the ability to tackle," Rodriguez said. "She did a great job on her. We knew we had to be aware of where she is at all times."

The Bears needed fewer than 10 minutes to strike.

Bartram Trail (19-2) connected passes outside the Lightning 18-yard area, until the ball popped loose for forward Olivia Glass just beyond the right corner of the box. The senior aimed a dipping shot that found the top corner of the far post, above the dive of Jones.

The Bears tallied their second on a superb counterattack. Jori Follenweider held off a defender from center forward and found the advancing Ivey through the middle. As the defense converged around her, the sophomore passed to Glass on the right, and the return ball from the wing reached Ivey in stride for a flawless low finish.

"We worked on that [midfield counters] a ton in practice," Ivey said. "Being able to apply it to the game was really, really good."

Keeper Dean preserved the two-goal lead going into the break, diving to her left to deny a Lightning shot several seconds after the scoreboard clock had already ticked down to zero.

Cypress Bay's biggest opportunity came with 19 minutes to go, when Dean came out to field a loose ball on the edge of the Bartram Trail box but was whistled for what officials ruled a hand ball outside the penalty area. Officials yellow-carded the keeper, giving Cypress Bay a free kick in prime territory 18 yards out.

That ruling forced Bartram Trail to bring in junior Kelsey Bowen to face Cypress Bay's Morgan on the free kick.

The Bears dropped almost half their lineup onto the edge of the goal area ahead of the shot, and right fullback Bachman cleared the ball from the line with her knee.

"The way we stepped up and played for each other, we were flying in front of balls to not allow anything," Rodriguez said.

Minutes later, Bartram Trail put the game away when Ivey lunged to head Reese Wheeler's corner kick past Jones in the 75th minute. 

Ivey capped the win with a 20-yard bullet to the top corner in the 77th minute.

Bartram Trail becomes Northeast Florida's first public school to repeat as FHSAA champions since Nease in 2005 and 2006.

The Bears might not be done. They're set to return nearly their entire starting lineup for the 2021-22 season, and several key Bears, including Ivey, Bachman and freshman Johnson, have multiple years of eligibility left.

"It's incredible," Ivey said. "This team is just so special."