The Pace girls soccer team has battled some adversity this year.
Head coach Nick Williamson and senior Lexi Basel both called it “road bumps” along the way. The Patriots went through an unexpected coaching change in the middle of the regular season. And heading into the District 1-6A semifinal matchup on Friday at Ashton Brosnaham Athletic Park against Gulf Breeze – the defending Class 6A state champions, and third seed in the district tournament – Williamson said the team had a “long talk” at school about “overcoming obstacles” and “concentrating on the next play.”
Not only did that correlate to their entire season, but the game was a strong representation for the short-term of “getting past road blocks,” Williamson and Basel mentioned.
Pace closed out its regular season on a three-game win streak, and the players thought they had the top seed in the district locked, especially after beating Navarre earlier in January. But Navarre snuck past the Patriots to claim the No. 1 spot – consider that the first “road bump” heading into Friday.