Devils brace for Dragons

Under the guidance and patience of first-year coach Jordan Dancer, the Avon Park girls soccer team has shown steady improvement over the course of the season.

The Red Devils proved that with an emphatic 5-0 shutout of Fort Meade in their last match of the regular season.

"I'm really proud of the girls because they've worked hard all season and came through with an outstanding performance against Fort Meade," said 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."

The victory over Fort Meade was Avon Park's first of the season, and forward Chquen Wilmont led the Red Devils' scoring barrage with three goals, while Tiffany Zarco and Sayra Corona added a goal in the rout of the Miners.

Avon Park takes its newfound confidence into its first-round match against Lake Placid in the Class 3A-District 9 tournament at 6 tonight in Frostproof.

Wilmont is Avon Park's leading scorer and the Red Devils will need plenty of offense if they hope to upset a talented Lake Placid squad that they lost to twice during the season.

"We didn't get to practice much last week because of exams," said Dancer. "But the girls got to rest and I'm sure we'll be ready to go.

"We lost to Lake Placid by scores of 4-0 and 3-0 during the season, but I think if our defense plays with the same confidence and chemistry that we had against Fort Meade, it should be a close match."

Lake Placid brings an 11-7-1 record into tonight's district match, and the Green Dragons, who had 22 shots on goal, are still smarting after not scoring in Friday's 0-0 tie against Sebring.

"The match against Sebring was one of missed opportunities," said Lake Placid coach John Merlo. "We had good ball movement and plenty of shots, but we weren't able to finish.

"We have to do a better job of controlling the ball and finding the back of the net."

Lake Placid, which has a number of experienced players, is led by senior forward Yuribia Terrones, who has a team-high 30 goals.

"We've gotten much better and Yuribia has had a terrific season for us," said Merlo. "We swept Avon Park during the season, but they've improved a lot and we have to be ready for them.

"This is the playoffs and we can't take any team lightly because if we don't finish better than we did against Sebring, our season will be over a lot quicker than we want it to be."

The winner of tonight's Avon Park and Lake Placid match takes on the winner between host school Frostproof and Fort Meade on Thursday night.

"The Frostproof and Fort Meade match should be a good one," said Merlo. "They are both talented and experienced squads and we're in a very tough district.

"I like where we're at as a team because we're peaking at the right time and we can play with anybody in our district, but we have to stay focused and finish our chances."

WHAT: Class 3A-District 9 girls soccer tournament

WHO: Avon Park vs. Lake Placid

WHERE: Frostproof

COST: $6