Newberry falls to P.K. Yonge at District Championship Semi-finals

Tuesday night, the Newberry Varsity Boy’s Soccer team traveled to Fort White to face off with P.K. Yonge in the District Championship Semi-Finals. The Panthers fell to the Blue Wave 0-4. 

Newberry was feeling confident entering the match after coming off a five-game win streak, including a 3-1 win over Keystone Heights in the Quarterfinals on Friday night. 

P.K. Yonge was also confident entering the match. Earlier in the season, the Blue Wave gained an 8-0 win over the Panthers. P.K. Yonge came prepared and finished with back-to-back shutouts over the Panthers. 

Steady Start 

The match started slow as both teams struggled to get on the scoreboard. Newberry’s defense actively held off P.K. Yonge’s aggressive offense for much of the first half. 

Senior Ryan Armstrong, the goalkeeper for Newberry, secured eight saves in the first half for the Panthers.

A great save by Senior Ryan Armstrong, Newberry’s goalkeeper. Eight saves in the first half! @NHSPanthersSoc1 @ThePrepZone pic.twitter.com/Wf2IVbmcmI

— Ellie Shreve (@ellie_shreve) February 2, 2022

With 16:59 left in the first, senior Jonas Bish shot the first score of the game for P.K. Yonge.  

Newberry remained hopeful. The Panthers were down 0-1 at the half. Newberry head coach Jon Doles advised his team during halftime.

“You’ve gotta go all in, you’ve gotta go hard,” he said. “You have to get inside. Step in and make a play on that ball.”

Skillful Shots of the Second 

Opening the second half, senior Alex Barnett scored for the Blue Wave. P.K. Yonge had a 2-0 lead. The Panthers struggled to hold back the vigorous offensive efforts from the Blue Wave. 

With 21:47 left in the match, P.K. Yonge senior Roberto Hurtado shot. After bouncing off the knee of Newberry’s goalkeeper, the ball landed inside the goal line and the crowd erupted. 3-0, the Blue Wave. 

Senior #7 Roberto Hurtado scores for the Blue Wave with 21:47 left in the game.

3 – PK
0 – Newberry @PKYBoysSoccer @NHSPanthersSoc1 @ThePrepZone pic.twitter.com/gvGxxmnQ1h

— Ellie Shreve (@ellie_shreve) February 2, 2022

The Panthers persisted but the roar of the Blue Wave refused to be calmed. Closing out the game, sophomore Camron Barnett drove the final goal of the game for the Blue Wave.

#23 Camron Barnett scores for PK Yonge with 9:27 left in the game.
4 – PK
0 – Newberry @PKYBoysSoccer @NHSPanthersSoc1 @ThePrepZone pic.twitter.com/ZrEvhwkt0a

— Ellie Shreve (@ellie_shreve) February 2, 2022

The Panthers fell to P.K. Yonge with a final score of 4-0. 

P.K. Yonge head coach José De León commented on the Blue Wave’s biggest accomplishment from the game.

Doles expresses how proud he is with his team’s fight against P.K. Yonge.

“One of the big things was the intensity level. They came and they started out early and contended very well against an excellent team.” – Coach Doles

Panthers Part Ways 

Newberry is 12-8 as their season reaches its end. The Panthers reflect on the journey that brought them here. 

Coach Doles recognized the improvement and development Newberry has achieved throughout the season. Coach Doles also acknowledged some of the players who performed well in Tuesday night’s match.

The Blue Wave Surges On 

The Blue Wave celebrated this big victory and is ready for the next. P.K. Yonge coach Dé León explained the focus of the team moving forward. 

“I want them to focus on doing their best and sticking to the plan. Other teams are going to try to take us out of our game. The only loss we have this season was because of that and if we don’t let that get in our way, we should get really far.” – Coach Dé León

P.K. Yonge is now 18-1 on the season as they head into the District Championship Final against Trinity Catholic. Game start time is set for Thursday at 7 p.m.