Ava Matherne's hat-trick carries Gulf Breeze to 6A girls soccer state title

Dolphins end a 22-year state championship drought with victory over Lourdes Academy

DELAND, FLORIDA – Ava Matherne posted a hat trick Friday to propel the Gulf Breeze Dolphins past Lourdes Academy, 4-1, in the FHSAA Class 6A girls soccer state championship match.

The victory ended a 22-year drought for the Dolphins (20-2-1), who won back-to- back 2A titles in 2000 and 2001. They also gave the Bobcats their third consecutive state-final loss.

Gulf Breeze coach Albert Gatica said the Dolphins state-semifinal loss to Naples last season propelled them.

Ava Matherne brings the state-championship trophy to her Gulf Breeze teammates after their 4-1 victory over Lourdes in the 6A state girls soccer final / Photo by Lynn Ramsey

“We knew we had the quality on this team to go all the way,” Gatica said. “They showed throughout the postseason a tremendous amount of grit and hunger. And they weren’t going to let themselves lose. We have a great senior class that led the way for this team. We’ll definitely miss them, but we’re pretty deep here in small Gulf Breeze.”

Both teams started out aggressively on offense. Matherne, an East Tennessee State University commitment, helped the Dolphins continue that aggression all game.

“I felt a big advantage 1-v-1 with them,” Matherne said. “When I was gone, I was gone. I just went 1-v-1 and finished.”

The game started off with fireworks. Six minutes into the match, Matherne drove into the left side of the Lourdes penalty area, then bounced in a shot off a Bobcats defender to put the Dolphins up 1-0.

Coco Aguilar knotted it 1-1 56 seconds later when she headed in a shot from just outside the 6-yard box.

“We knew we’d have moments we knew that we’d get rebounds, and we had them at the beginning,” said Lourdes coach David Fique. “We had a lot of opportunities in counterpress in the first half.”

However, the Dolphins – and Matherne in particular – kept pressuring the Bobcats. Matherne took a pass from Addi Stikeleather, then dribbled and shot from 8 yards out. Matherne’s shot beat the keeper low left and put Gulf Breeze up 2-1 with 19:14 left in the half.

Matherne bounced another shot off the Lourdes keeper into the goal with 1:38 left in the half for a 3-1 Gulf Breeze lead.

“We knew they had two girls up top who were very good players,” Fique said. “We were trying to avoid as many counters. Unfortunately, it was maybe a six-minute disconnect that they took advantage of.”

Ellie Pavey put the Dolphins up 4-1 with 23:56 left. She took a cross from Meredith Pugh, then lofted a high shot that bounced off the keeper’s mitts and into the goal.

“One of the biggest things we fixed was the way we played,” Gatica said. “We had to stay connected. We had to circulate the ball, a little less individual play, and the belief we had in one another.”

Katie Ardoin made two saves for the Dolphins, leading a defense that shut down the Bobcats after the initial goal.

Lourdes had a chance to cut the lead to 4-2, but Antonella Monsalve bounced a penalty kick off the right post.

The Bobcats tried to win their 19th game for Katherina Puig, who also wore No. 19. She suffered serious injuries in a boating accident Labor Day Weekend that took the life of another Lourdes student.

“We love the fact we were able to bring her here and make her proud,” Fique said. “I know the girls did an amazing job when it came down to it. I leave happy, I could not have coached a better team.”

The Bobcats lose nine seniors form a class that went to four consecutive state finals. But Fique made a promise.

“We’ll be back,” he said. “I’ll tell you that right now.”