Ponte Vedra tops Gulf Breeze, advances to 5A final four

Ponte Vedra advanced to the Class 5A final four for the second year in a row with a 2-0 win over Gulf Breeze (16-3-2) on Tuesday night at the Sharks’ stadium.

Ella Shapiro put the Sharks (12-3-5) on the board with a score off a free kick and Riley Rojahn made it 2-0 with a breakaway goal midway through the second half.

“That was huge. They were trying to press for the tying goal, so it gave us a lot of breathing room,” Ponte Vedra coach Dave Silverberg said. “They kept pressure on us the whole game, but we didn’t make a mistake.”

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Defense always seems to be the Sharks’ strength, and this year they’re playing with three different starters from last year when Ponte Vedra advanced to the title game.

“The last five or six game they’ve been great,” Silverberg said.

The Sharks notched their fifth shutout in their last six games with freshman goalkeeper Audrey Johnson providing solid play in the net.

“She made no mistakes,” Silverberg said of performance Tuesday. “That’s what you want from your goalkeeper.”

Ponte Vedra will travel to Land O’ Lakes (18-3-1) on Friday for a state semifinal. The winner will play for the state championship on March 5 in DeLand.