Red Devils roll to victory

All of the hard work and sacrifice the Avon Park girls soccer team put in over the last three months paid off in a big way in Friday night's regular-season finale against Fort Meade at Joe Franza Stadium.

Forward Chquen Wilmont tallied three goals, Tiffany Zarco scored a goal and Sayra Corona added another as the Red Devils cruised to a 5-0 rout of the Miners on Senior Night in a Class 3A-District 9 contest.

The win was the first of the year for Avon Park.

"I'm really proud of the girls because they played well," said first-year Red Devil coach Jordan Dancer. "We had a solid effort from everybody and we finally played with some confidence.

"Our communication was excellent and the girls just need to believe in themselves."

Avon Park came out energized and ready to play against a scrappy Fort Meade squad that has also improved a lot during the season.

Wilmont led the potent Avon Park attack, which peppered the Miner's keeper with 13 shots on goal.

The Red Devils gained the early momentum when Wilmont broke free from several Fort Meade defenders and scored to put the Red Devils on top.

Wilmont, the leading scorer for Avon Park, displayed great footwork, deft ball-handling and tallied two more goals in the Red Devils romp over the Miners.

Avon Park goalies Jacqueline Yanez and Kristazas Allong combined to stop 11 Fort Meade shots to secure the shutout.

"I'm really excited about the way we handled the ball and controlled the middle of the field," Dancer said. "The girls showed how much they've improved by the way they communicated and moved without the ball.

"We were strong on offense and defense and our confidence is high heading into the district tournament."

The Class 3A-District 9 tournament begins next Monday in Frostproof and Avon Park will need to play at a high level if the Red Devils hope to continue their season.

"The girls have worked hard to improve and we'll do the best we can," said Dancer. "We're in a very competitive district and we'll have to play well to advance past the first round."