Three Okaloosa County girls’ soccer teams punched their tickets to the FHSAA playoffs when brackets were released last Thursday night, with Niceville, Fort Walton Beach and Rocky Bayou all earning postseason berths.
6A Region 1: Niceville
Kelly Fernandez’s Lady Eagles enter the playoffs as the clear favorite to claim a state title. As the No. 1 seed in 6A Region 1, Niceville will host No. 8 Navarre at Twin Oaks in the opening round — a matchup that should favor the Lady Eagles after their 4-0 victory over the Raiders during the regular season.
A win would set up a second-round matchup against either Nease or Tocoi Creek, both of which Niceville should handle favorably. That path appears to lead toward an Elite Eight rematch with No. 2 seed Bartram Trail, a game that would carry extra weight after last year’s Elite Eight loss to the Bears.
The two programs played to a 1-1 tie back in November, but Niceville enters the postseason as the deeper squad.
- Jezlyn Nelson, Abbey Kurtiz, Delaney Diehl and Payten Hart headline a roster with options at every turn. Whether that depth can carry the Lady Eagles to a state championship remains to be seen.
4A Region 1: Fort Walton Beach
The Lady Vikings earned the No. 3 seed in 4A Region 1 and will host No. 6 seed Stanton in the opening round — a matchup Emmanuel Paravalos’ team should win comfortably.
After that, the road gets significantly harder.
A first-round victory would likely send Fort Walton Beach to Ocala to face an undefeated Vanguard squad anchored by an offensive attack featuring Kendal Davis, Ashlyn Wan, Rilyn Reardon and Ruby Scott.
Survive that and the Lady Vikings would likely face No. 1 seed Bishop Kenny, ranked No. 14 nationally. Keelie Kleppinger and company have their work cut out for them.
1A Region 1: Rocky Bayou
The Lady Knights advanced to the Sweet 16 after a 1-0 victory over Christ’s Church Academy on Monday.
Now comes the real test. Rocky Bayou travels to Orange Park on Monday to face St. John’s Country Day, the No. 1 seed and top-ranked team in the classification. The Spartans, ranked No. 29 nationally, recently pushed Niceville to the limit before falling in a narrow defeat.
Should the Lady Knights pull off the upset, either Mount Dora Christian or St. Joseph Academy would likely await in the Elite Eight. The road to the Final Four won’t be easy, but Rocky Bayou has already shown it can grind out tight games.
Congratulations and good luck to all three county teams.
