A.C. Flora’s Greylyn Rentz tries to get by Hilton Head Island’s Sara Castaldi.
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The A.C. Flora Falcons rattled off 21 shots and held the visiting Hilton Head Island Seahawks to two in a 5-0 win in the second round of the Class 4A girls soccer playoffs Thursday, May 2.
“This was a great game,” A.C. Flora head coach Eric Navarro said. “We have been looking forward to the playoffs pretty much since pre-season. When I got this job we had a conversation with the seniors and the whole idea was we want to do everything we can to prepare ourselves for the playoffs and that reflects in our schedule.”
This season the Falcons played the likes of J.L. Mann, Pinewood Prep, Dutch Fork, Chapin, and Mauldin among others and went undefeated in Region 5-4A. The preparation showed as they came out of the gate swinging against the Seahawks.
A little over two minutes into the contest, Harlan Lyons ripped a shot off the post. Then in the eighth minute, Lilly Anne Stokes’s free kick bounced off Hilton Head’s keeper and right to a charging Liza Stavrou who punched it in for the game’s first goal.
A minute later, Lyons got behind the Seahawk backline and put the ball in the back of the net for a 2-0 lead. Six shots and nearly 19 minutes later, Stavrou got loose and put her second goal of the match in the left corner.
A.C. Flora’s Harlan Lyons looks to pass as Hilton Head Island’s Andrea Tapia gives chase.
In the 35th minute, A.C. Flora’s Mary Elizabeth Riddle weaved through the Hilton Head defense and then dropped a pass to Lyons who ripped a left-footer in the left corner of the goal for a 4-0 advantage that the Falcons took into halftime.
“Any time you’re playing a game and you can score early and you can score often, that really affects the other team a whole lot,” Navarro said. “That gives the defense a little bit more room to breathe just in case they do have a little slip up.”
A.C. Flora’s defense did not slip up. Playing with a backup freshman, Rachel Britt at center back, with outside backs Addie Coffer and Greylyn Rentz along with Stokes at stopper and a host of others, they held the Seahawks to two shots in the first half and none in the second half. Keeper Maggie Hamilton saved the one on frame easily. She had to cut off a breakaway or two in the second half, but that was it.
“She’s not a goalie by trade,” Navarro said of Hamilton. “She was a field player when I had her on JV and just over time we’ve worked together. We got some coaches to give her some more specific goalie coaching, and she’s really stepped up this year.”
The defense even got in on the scoring action late in the second half. Rentz raced down the right sideline and into the box where she got off a shot that was deflected, but she was there to kick in the rebound and give A.C. Flora the 5-0 lead in the 69th minute.
A.C. Flora’s Liza Stavrou charges downfield against Hilton Head Island.
The Falcons are scheduled to travel to Lucy Beckham Saturday, May 4 to face the Bengals in a quarterfinal match. The Bengals advanced to face A.C. Flora with a 6-0 win over North Myrtle Beach.
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