Port St. Joe girls soccer advances to district tournament

In a surprisingly easy contest, the Port St. Joe girls soccer team scored a 6-0 semi-final win over St. John Paul II (5-5-1) this past Thursday, January 26, at the 2A District 1 tournament hosted by Rocky Bayou Christian School in Niceville. 

Earlier this month, the Tiger Sharks had defeated the Panthers 3-1, and won a second scheduled match via forfeit. 

St. Joe coach Justin Gerlach said that “being so young, (the team) was anxious about the district tournament, but fortunately I believe John Paul was not at 100% percent (and) we were able to pull off the win.” 

“Nevertheless, we are moving on to once again face a quality team in Rocky Bayou and the hopes to claim the district championship,” he said. 

Gerlach added that “I’m really proud of our team’s effort recently, and (am) looking forward to how our team plays this coming Thursday.” 

Now 9-8-2, St. Joe will play on Thursday, February 2, against Rocky Bayou (7-8, but undefeated in the district) for the district title. 

In their semi-final match, the Knights easily handled the Franklin County Seahawks (3-15-1) 8-0. 

In two earlier meetings between St. Joe and Rocky Bayou this season, the Knights defeated the Sharks 1-0 and 2-1.