Last season’s heartbreaking shootout loss to South Lake in the regional quarterfinals has not slowed down the Niceville Eagles.
Despite losing an impactful senior class and suffering that heartbreak, Niceville is back with fury. The Eagles improved to 5-0 with an 8-1 win at Mosley on Tuesday night, a day after a 1-0 clean sheet victory over Final Four qualifier Fort Walton Beach. Niceville also owns a 4-3 win over Booker T. Washington.
“4 and 0 in four games, it’s tough to start better than that, so we’re pretty excited about that,” head coach Wes Nelson said before Tuesday’s game at Mosley. “We are definitely a different team from last year. Not saying we’re better, but we have a different makeup, and I’m pretty proud of the way these guys are coming together.”
Leading the way is a breakout season from senior Kaileb Wedderburn, who shares the team lead with five goals.
- “It’s his senior year. There’s something special about your senior year, and he’s taken full advantage of it,” Nelson said.
Key returners Jackson Fischer and Kawika Batiste are also contributing, with Fischer matching Wedderburn’s five goals and Batiste adding three.
“They play with a lot of heart and passion. Jackson’s our captain, and Kawika, at the end of the game he’s exhausted because he gives everything he has,” Nelson said.
Fischer scored twice against Mosley, while Batiste, Wedderburn, Kyle Sposato, Jesus Hernandez, Evan Navarre and Bryce Benne each added a goal.
On the other end, the Eagles’ defense has already posted two clean sheets this season, in a 3-0 win over Destin and the 1-0 win over Fort Walton Beach. Goalkeeper Lucas Alba has stepped into a starting role and made 13 saves through the first four games.
Overall, Nelson said he is most impressed with the effort his team brings.
“Just the effort we give every single day. You don’t always get the results, but our effort and the way we come to play is driving us to be competitive,” he said.
Still, Nelson sees room for improvement across the board.
“We are not a finished product,” he said.
But once again, it looks like another good year is in store for the Eagles.
