Five Gainesville-Area Schools To Begin Boys Soccer State Tournament

The Gainesville area is well represented in the Florida Boys Soccer Regional Tournaments beginning next week. First-round matchups for five area high schools were announced Friday.

Santa Fe

The Red Raiders (13-3-2) slot in as a f0ur seed in the Class 3A Regional Tournament. After crushing Eastside 3-0 in the district final last week, they will host a struggling Bolles High School (5-8-4) team next Tuesday.

The fifth-seeded Bulldogs (Jacksonville) snagged an at-large bid after falling to top-seeded Wolfson in their district final tilt 1-0. In the regular season, Santa Fe and Bolles played to a 0-0 draw.

Newberry

The Panthers (15-3-1) have a rematch on deck with a Ocala Trinity Catholic Celtics squad (9-7-3) looking for revenge. Newberry ended the regular season with a win over Trinity Catholic in the 2A-District 3 Finals on Jan. 29, 2-1.

Now, the four seed Panthers will host the five seed Celtics next Tuesday for the second time in two weeks, this time in the 2A Regional.

P.K. Yonge vs. Williston

P.K. Yonge (14-4-3) slides into the Regionals as a 3 seed with an at-large bid. Trinity Catholic upset the Blue Wave in the 2A-District 3 semifinals. Now, they will get a chance at a familiar foe in the 2A regional first round — their district rival Williston Red Devils (11-5-2). 

The seven seed Red Devils fell to the 2A-District 3 champion Newberry Panthers in a 3-2 overtime thriller last month. In the regular season, P.K. Yonge bested Williston 3-1. The Blue Wave will look to replicate the result next Tuesday.

Oak Hall

The Oak Hall Eagles (10-4) earned a four spot in the Class 1A Regional after reaching the finals of the 1A-District 2 tournament. Top-ranked St. Joseph’s Academy (St. Augustine) blanked them, 5-0.

Next, Oak Hall will face five seed Christ’s Church Academy (8-6-1) at home next Tuesday. CCA (Jacksonville) was upset in the 1A-District 3 Semifinals. They entered in the top spot and fell to fourth-ranked University Christian, 2-0.

The state tournament continues through February, with state champions crowned in early March. The girls’ regional tournament is also underway, with three local schools participating.