Lady Tiger Sharks lose close one to Oak Hall

The Lady Tiger varsity soccer team may have endured a tough loss in their regional quarterfinals, but they made public schools proud.

In a narrow contest Feb. 16 in Gainesville, the girls fell 4-3 to the Oak Hall Lady Eagles, falling behind 3-1 in the first half, before narrowing the margin in the second.

“We won the second half 2-1,” said coach Justin Gerlach, whose team finished with a record of 12-6-2, and were ranked the best public high school in Class 2A.

In the first half, junior right forward Madelyn Gortemoller took a pass from senior center-midfielder Zoe Gerlach, and then beat a defender to get the Port St. Joe team on the board.

In the second half Gortemoller scored, and then with five minutes left to play, passed to Gerlach to narrow the score.

“We were doing our darndest to force a tie,” said the coach.

Oak Hall fell to powerhouse Maclay on Friday,

Port St. Joe will lose three seniors next year, Gerlach, Brianna Biagini, and Eva Strickland, a transfer from First Baptist Christian School in Apalachicola, finishing up her second full year, who has proven herself a leader in defense and a recent Scholar Athlete of the Week.

“It’s disappointing to lose and end your season but I think overall we have a bright future given the players we have returning,” said Justin Gerlach.

This article originally appeared on The Star: Lady Tiger Sharks lose close one to Oak Hall