Lady Pelicans ranked sixth in South Region
Pensacola FC’s senior women’s team beat Florida Roots 2-0 in its season-opener Saturday with stoppage-time goals in each half. The road win helped PFC jump to sixth in the WPSL South Region rankings.
Paige Phillips from Milton scored the second of Pensacola FC’s goals in a 2-0 win Saturday against Florida Roots. CREDIT: Pensacola FC.
Pelicans break down Roots’ defense
It’s a cliche in sports: Play to the whistle.
But sayings become cliches because of how often they’re true. Pensacola FC’s senior women offered a new example when the Lady Pelicans (1-0-0, 3 points) earned both goals of a 2-0 win against the Florida Roots in stoppage time.
Emma Beltz headed home an Ava Matherne cross to the back post in the third minute of first-half stoppage time, and Paige Phillips blasted a shot from the top of the penalty box into the top corner in the third minute of stoppage time to ensure PFC earned the three points.
“I think the girls came into the game with a great mentality and excellent energy,” coach Chandler Castleman said after the match at Choctawhatchee High School in Fort Walton Beach. “For a lot of them this is a different system/style of play than they have played before and I think they adapted well.”
The game was the Pelicans’ first of the season after its opening-day match against TLH Reckoning was canceled because of lightning.
Castleman said the Roots played a very deep, compact block on defense.
“We need to improve on our ability to recycle possession, especially when teams sit deep against us,” he said. “I thought all of the girls did a fantastic job, but Bailey Erwig, Bela Labović, and Aila Swinton all stood out to me playing in the back three.”
Next up
The Lady Pelicans’ next match is May 28, when they “host” Pensacola FC Academy, a separate PFC entry in the Women’s Premier Soccer League Gulf Coast Conference’s Third Coast Division. PFC Academy (0-0-1, 1 point) plays the Roots at 4 p.m. Saturday at Choctaw High’s Joe Etheredge Stadium.
WPSL rankings
The WPSL released its computer-generated power rankings, the Top 25 clubs nationally and Top 10 for each of its four regions, after this weekend’s matches. In the South Division, Pensacola FC came in sixth after being unranked in the preseason. Jacksonville Armada FC (1-0-0) of the Sunshine Conference was first. LA Krewe Rush (1-0-0) of the Delta Basin Division was the only other ranked Gulf Coast Conference team, coming in at 10th.
California Storm, winners of two of the last three WPSL championships, is ranked first nationally.
Starting Lineups
FLORIDA ROOTS — Katherine Ardoin; Xiamara Barnett, Antonina Clark, Kendall Wilson, Daphne Forester; Brin Moore, Isabella Pipkin, Hailey Gatica; Julia Stanley, Allison Dalton, Emma Barry. BENCH — Addison DeWolf, Ashlynne Richardson, Aubrie Kimball, Avery Rightley, Dream George, Kennedy Kerns, Kiara Pulgarin
PENSACOLA FC — Mia Ferkranus, Aila Swinton, Araceli Portugal, Ava Matherne, Bailey Erwig, Elexia Nelson, Emma Beltz, Hunter Wallace, Isabela Labović, Paige Phillips, Zivanna Labović. BENCH — Addison Smith, Emily Smith, Olivia Quinoz