All Area Girls Soccer | Manatee's Jessica Schafer is the Player of the Year
BRADENTON -- As a center midfielder and wing, Jessica Schafer rotated between ripping shots past opposing goalkeepers and setting up goals by teammates.
In any case, the Manatee senior was an attacking menace on the pitch this past girls soccer season.
She produced 14 goals and 23 assists to lead the Hurricanes to a regional quarterfinal berth in Class 5A.
Her vision and scoring knack are why Schafer is the Herald's player of the year for girls soccer.
"I was pretty surprised," Schafer said. "There's so many good players and most of them are my close friends."
But Schafer will not take her talent to the next level through a scholarship. Instead, she opted to focus on academics and is heading to the University of Michigan to study civil engineering.
"I might try to walk on, but if it doesn't work out then I'll probably just play intramurals," Schafer said. "It's definitely been difficult. I've been playing since I was 4 years old, so it's going to be a struggle."
Schafer was accepted into Florida and Purdue before deciding to attend Michigan.
But before her college choice was made, Schafer was doing damage during the winter sports season.
Marshalling the middle of the field for Manatee, there were memorable moments during her Hurricanes career.
This past season, though, Schafer said her top moment was when the Canes blanked district rival Lakewood Ranch 3-0.
"After that game, I thought we played well the rest of the season," Schafer said. "That was the first or the second time we had beaten them, so it was just really great. After that game, we all were just so ecstatic. We posted it all on Fa
cebook and Instagram and everything. It was just a great feeling."
A third and final encounter with Lakewood Ranch ended in a district championship loss, which forced the team on the road for the regional quarterfinals. That's where Manatee's season ended with a 2-0 loss to Palm Harbor University.
"Toward the end we all realized we gave it our all, so there was nothing else we could really do," Schafer said.
While three other Manatee players who earned all-area first-team honors plan to play collegiately next season, Schafer isn't one of them.
She reached that decision gradually over the past two years as she continued excelling on the field and in the classroom. Eventually, though, Schafer picked college over soccer.
"I think all of us have gradually come to terms with it," Schafer said. "It wasn't like there was a day I realized I wasn't playing college soccer."
Regardless, Schafer made a lasting mark in her final season by becoming the Herald's player of the year.
Jason Dill, sports reporter, can be reached at 745-7017. Follow him on Twitter @Jason__Dill and like his Facebook page at Jason Dill Bradenton Herald.
Meredith Roberts
Senior, Manatee
To her credit: A forward, Roberts' knack for the goal was usually always on display. She produced 18 goals and five assists to help the Canes reach the regional quarterfinals. Roberts said her top moment this season was the 3-0 victory against district rival Lakewood Ranch in the regular season, because it was the first win against the Mustangs in a long time.
Fast fact: Anatomy and physiology is her favorite subject, and she's a National Honor Society member.
Up next: She is heading to Florida Atlantic University for college soccer next season.
Kylie Ameres
Senior, Manatee
To her credit: Ameres scored four goals and contributed three assists. Those aren't gaudy stats for a forward, but Ameres is a defender. Her main role was contributing to 12 clean sheets and anchoring a back four at center back.
Fast fact: Both of her parents, George and Jennifer, played high school and collegiate soccer.
Up next: She plans to play for Division I Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, N.C.
Brianna Blethen
Senior, Manatee
To her credit: Blethen's leadership as one of three captains came through her example as a center midfielder. She worked in tandem with player of the year Jessica Schafer to produce a formidable one-two punch. She produced 13 goals and 10 assists as a midfield general.
Fast fact: She enjoys riding horses that her grandparents own.
Up next: She plans to play at the University of South Florida in Tampa.
Madison Allen
Sophomore, Bradenton Christian
To her credit: A striker and midfielder, Allen constantly found herself on the score sheet. She fired at will during most games, recording 16 goals on 55 shots this season. Allen also added 12 assists in the best season in BCS team history, which was capped by its first regional berth.
Fast fact: Allen's favorite school subject is English, because she loves to write.
Up next: Just a sophomore, she'll return to BCS next season, but not before a trip to Haiti to hand out J316 soccer balls and help run a soccer camp.
Molly Setsma
Freshman, Bradenton Christian
To her credit: A key cog in the BCS attack. The center midfielder played higher up the pitch than the traditional playmaking role, producing 18 goals on 44 shots. But Setsma also supplied balls to her teammates, showing she wasn't a one-trick player. That ball distribution led to eight assists.
Fast fact: The hardest part about soccer for her is the commitment as she trains year-round through club and high school.
Up next: She plans to play for her club team FC Sarasota during the high school offseason.
Maddy Valadie
Senior, Bradenton Christian
To her credit: She didn't possess the eye-popping stats, but her leadership qualities were paramount to the Panthers' trip into unchartered playoff waters. Patrolling the middle of the pitch, Valadie flashed playmaking skills and moves that led to plenty of goals by others. And when she went for her own shot, she scored eight times on 16 attempts.
Fast fact: The midfielder said her favorite moments from the season were reaching regionals for the first time and doing it for head coach Butch Morley in his last season at the helm.
Up next: She's going to the University of Georgia to study journalism in the fall.
Isabelle Vazquez
Sophomore, Braden River
To her credit: Despite being a young group heading into the season, the Pirates shed thoughts it would be a rebuilding year with a talented group ready to take on all teams. Vazquez was at the heart of that as the club's captain. The center back was a rock in Braden River's defense, helping to produce five clean sheets out of 16 matches. She also added two goals and three assists as a defender.
Fast fact: She has an uncle who played professionally in Major League Soccer for the New York Red Bulls.
Up next: She plans to return to the Pirates for her junior season.
Julia Ortiz
Senior, Lakewood Ranch
To her credit: Ortiz has worn a lot of hats in her soccer career. She came to Ranch as a goalkeeper through her club team, but the Mustangs needed midfield help. So she played on the wing to whip in crosses as a junior. This past season, Lakewood Ranch needed defenders after losing key members from the previous year. Ortiz obliged, forming a partnership in the middle of defense with fellow first-team selection, Nicole Wurster, to keep 12 clean sheets and concede only eight goals.
Fast fact: Her favorite moment was defeating Manatee in the district title game.
Up next: She's heading to Saint Leo University for college soccer.
Nicole Wurster
Senior, Lakewood Ranch
To her credit: The Mustangs' program has long been an area power, and this year's squad was no different. That was due, in part, to how well the defense played with Wurster and fellow first-team selection, Julia Ortiz, solidifying the middle. They helped produce 12 clean sheets during the season, which was capped with a 2-0 district title victory against rival Manatee.
Fast fact: She was named Lakewood Ranch's defender of the year.
Up next: She is heading to Gardner-Webb University for Division I soccer in the fall.
Danielle Wilson
Senior, Lakewood Ranch
To her credit: Getting past the Mustangs' back four is always a daunting task, but then teams would have to beat Wilson. And the senior goalkeeper wasn't one to get beaten easily. She recorded 66 saves, conceded eight goals and kept 12 clean sheets. An 89.2 save percentage is tidy for a soccer keeper, and a top mark for the area.
Fast fact: Her favorite school subject is chemistry, which is her plan for a college major.
Up next: She plans to play at Emory University.
Maddison Krstec
Junior, Lakewood Ranch
To her credit: As a midfielder, Krstec peppered opposing defenders and demonstrated sublime ball control through the middle of the pitch. She was so technically sound that it was like the ball was glued to her foot during most matches. Krstec took 90 shots during the season, producing 14 goals and nine assists.
Fast fact: She started her career at North Port before transferring to Lakewood Ranch.
Up next: She is set to return to the Mustangs as a pivotal playmaker once again.
Honorable mention
Bradenton Christian -- Maddie Jackson, sophomore; McKenna Jackson, senior; Rayna Smith, junior; McKenzie Allen, junior; Colbi Waller, senior; Savannah Fernandes, senior; Natalie Rulon, senior; Cat Calhoun, eighth; Emily Eurice, freshman.
Braden River -- Joanne Gigliotti, sophomore; Camryn Lizardi, sophomore; Lexi Madrid, sophomore
Lakewood Ranch -- Faith Schyck, sophomore
Out-of-Door Academy -- Natalie Gorji, eighth
Saint Stephen's -- Lindsay Leskinen, senior
This story was originally published May 9, 2016 at 11:51 PM with the headline "All Area Girls Soccer | Manatee's Jessica Schafer is the Player of the Year ."