High soccer season came to an end on Friday night, as two county teams lost in their respective regional semifinals.
After defeating Wesley Chapel 2-1 in the Region 5A-2 quarterfinals on Feb. 4, the Springstead boys had to travel to the region’s top seed New Smyrna Beach and lost 2-1. The Eagles finished the season at 15-4-1.
Meanwhile, the Nature Coast girls also had to visit the top seed in their region, going to Orlando to face Bishop Moore in a Sweet 16 matchup within Region 4A-2. The Sharks fell 7-0.
On Feb. 4, Nature Coast won its regional quarterfinal at Rockledge in a shootout after the teams were tied at 4. Giada Chechile had a goal and an assist, finishing with 33 goals and 21 assists on the season. Peyton Cheze also had a goal and an assist, Hayden Bleser and Sydney Gilbert had goals, and Reese Monroe and Ava Ferlita provided assists.
Chechile, Bleser and Cheze also scored goals during the shootout, as did keeper Kennedy Rasmussen. The junior totaled 15 saves prior to the shootout, then made two more in the shootout to seal the win for the Sharks (13-6-2).
Nature Coast’s boys reached regionals after winning a district title. As the eighth seed in Region 4A-2, they also had to travel to Bishop Moore for a quarterfinal on Feb. 4. The Sharks lost 3-0, ending up 8-7-1 on the season.
Boys and girls basketball season entered the postseason with district tournaments held all of last week. Four county teams reached district championship games.
While the Weeki Wachee girls were able to win their second straight district title on Friday night, the Springstead girls, Hernando girls and Nature Coast boys were not as successful.
The Sharks played Dunedin in the District 4A-9 finale on Friday night and fell 59-46 to the host Falcons, who won their first district championship since 1968.
Nature Coast, seeded third, started the tournament by downing sixth-seeded Weeki Wachee 60-37 on Feb. 3, before blowing out second-seed Gulf 50-23 just two days later. But the Sharks couldn’t pull out one more victory and they saw their season end at 17-10 after not qualifying for regionals.
Springstead’s boys also missed out on regionals after losing in the District 5A-5 semifinals. The Eagles (15-11) had the misfortune of being in a district with the top two teams in the region, Leesburg and Lecanto. Against Leesburg on Feb. 5, Springstead lost 77-31. Ryan Sayre led the team with 12 points.
Two days earlier, the Eagles rolled past Belleview 60-30 with Zion McKenzie scoring 18 points and Sayre adding 10 points plus six steals.
In the end no Hernando County boy team made regionals. Hernando lost in the semifinals of the District 4A-6 Tournament 49-43 against Tavares on Feb. 5. Two days prior, the third-seeded Leopards (19-8) beat sixth-seeded Citrus 79-69 behind 29 points and 10 rebounds from Sam Jackson. Daniel Merizalde had 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists and a steal, while Blake Williams added 12 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals.
That same night fourth-seeded Central lost to fifth-seed Mount Dora 38-35. The Bears ended the season at 11-12.
As for the girls, Springstead reached the final of the District 5A-5 Tournament but like their male counterparts these Eagles couldn’t survive a trip to top-seeded Leesburg, losing 65-44 on Saturday afternoon.
Still, Springstead (20-6) earned a spot in the Region 5A-2 quarterfinals. The Eagles, seeded fifth, will make the short trip to fourth-seeded River Ridge on Thursday. Weeki Wachee is the fourth seed in Region 4A-3 and will host fifth-seeded Chamberlain on Thursday.
Hernando’s girls reached the final of the District 4A-6 Tournament, losing to top-seeded Eustis on Friday 51-18. On Thursday, Ayana Kincade scored 18 points to lead the second-seeded Leopards (13-12) past Tavares 33-29. The third seed Tavares had beaten sixth-seeded Central 31-23 on Feb. 4.
While Weeki Wachee won the District 4A-9 crown, Nature Coast lost in the first round. The third-seeded Sharks were upset by sixth-seeded Hudson 57-55 on Feb. 4 and finished the season at 9-12.
The high school baseball regular season begins this week, but in college baseball Hernando High graduate Michale Savarese was named FCSAA Division II Pitcher of the Week two straight weeks. Currently at Pasco-Hernando State College, the sophomore right-hander from Brooksville struck eight in just 3.2 innings on Jan. 24 against Miami Dade, allowing one run on one hit and one walk.
On Jan. 31, he got the win after tossing six scoreless, no-hit innings against Polk State, walking one and striking out eight.
