Ponte Vedra High School (PVHS) boys soccer played in their first road game at Fleming Island High School (FIHS) against the Eagles on Dec. 1. The Sharks had come off a restful Thanksgiving break after a 4-0 start to their season with highlighted wins against St. Augustine High School and Nease High School. The first half was stagnant as neither team could produce anything on offense. As the half went on PVHS started to spark something on offense but time expired and the Sharks went into the break tied at 0-0. After halftime, senior, Oliver Minch put the Sharks ahead with the first goal of the match. The match quickly turned sour for the Sharks as the Eagles scored two goals of their own and took the lead at 2-1. Running short on time, PVHS pushed the ball up field in hopes of scoring the equalizer. The Eagles scored an own goal in the confusion and bailed out PVHS with a tie. The final score was 2-2 with the Sharks adding a tie to their record making the team 4-0-1.

On Dec. 4, PVHS boys soccer took on the Englewood High School Rams at the Shark Tank. The Sharks had just tied their last match with Fleming High School 2-2. PVHS started hot with senior midfielder, Pascal Rocha who scored on the Sharks first possession. Rocha scored again just minutes later to increase the PVHS lead to 2-0. The Sharks continued to their pressure on the Rams goalkeeper. Soon enough, senior forward, Oliver Minch forced a mistake in the box and capitalized by burying the Sharks third goal. Right before halftime, a through ball by senior defender, Owen Zimmerman connected with junior forward, Noah Ostfeld. Ostfeld found the back of the net before time expired to grant PVHS a 4-0 lead going into the break. After halftime, senior defender, Jp Laverde added his first goal of the season with a fading header from the left side of the box. PVHS was granted a penalty kick and Rocha was granted the opportunity to score his third. Rocha netted his third goal with ease for his hat-trick, and put the Sharks up 6-0. Ten minutes remained on the clock and sophomore, Giancarlo Laverde gave the Sharks their seventh goal of the match, sending the Rams home 7-0. Highlights of the match were Rocha’s hat-trick (The Sharks second hat-trick of the season) and both Laverde brothers scoring in the same game. Rocha said, “It’s a great feeling to bounce back and show our teams resilience. Being able to help the team get a win and continue to drive our season is always an amazing feeling.” PVHS nearly matched their season high in goals and returned to the win column with an overall record of 5-0-1. Next week the Sharks travel to Seabreeze High School on Dec. 9 for their next match.

Pictured: Jp Laverde pressing the ball up field to make a play (Amycornett photography)