Falcons fall to Tampa Prep 3-1

TAMPA — When the sting wears off and the tears dry eye up, Amy Ivin will have fond memories of her final season of soccer at Saint Stephen’s.

Tuesday night, however, she was having a hard time wrapping her head around how it ended.

One of strongest seasons in the program’s history came to a close when the Falcons fell to Tampa Prep 3-1 in a Class 2A-Region 3 semifinal, robbing Saint Stephen’s of a third straight trip to a regional championship game.

It also ended the prep careers of Ivin and Brooke Cornetet, the seniors who helped lead Saint Stephen’s to an 18-4 mark and a district title.

“This was definitely our best year,” Ivin said. “The group of girls was just so nice, and it was so much fun to spend my senior year with them. This has been the best group, definitely, since I started in the eighth grade.”

It was Ivin who had Saint Stephen’s sideline jumping early when took a pass from Ashley Falkner and scored a little more than 15 minutes after kickoff.

That proved to be the Falcons’ biggest highlight.

Less than 10 minutes later, Saint Stephen’s was called for a hand ball in the goal box when Tampa Prep’s direct free kick ricocheted off the Falcons’ wall of players. That led to a penalty kick, which Isabel Dalence buried near the back left post.

“That kind of took our away our momentum a little bit there,” Falcons coach Bill Unzicker said.

It further swung Tampa Prep’s way just before halftime, when Saint Stephen’s accidentally headed the ball into its own net.

“Next thing you know, it’s in the back of the net and they’re celebrating,” Unzicker said. “We tried to head it out, but it went the wrong way. But those things happen.”

The Falcons tried to rally in the second half, but never got a clean shot on goal following Ivin’s score. In the interim, the Terrapins (16-5-4) took a comfortable two-goal lead when Caroline Cheek scored with less than 18 minutes remaining.

For the Falcons, it was a tough end to a season that included wins over bigger schools such as Braden River and Manatee, and one-goal losses to powers such as Venice and Tampa Berkeley Prep.

Saint Stephen’s also knocked off Tampa Prep on Jan. 7, but couldn’t duplicate the feat Tuesday.

“It’s the best way to spend to spend your senior year. I couldn’t ask for a better group,” said Ivin, who scored 105 goals in her career. “Our team was so strong this year...Every game, we played hard.”

Unzicker agreed.

“I feel bad because this season is over,” he said. “This has been a tremendous team...I’ve had some good players in the past, but as a collective unit, this was probably the most enjoyable group that we’ve had.”