ORANGE PARK – With a sixth straight Class 1A soccer title, St. Johns Country Day School junior Abbey Newton not only has a shot at a record seventh team title in a row during her career, but more impressively, she has the opportunity to become a three-time Clay Today girls soccer player of the year.

Newton, with her 25 goals and 22 assists for coach Mike Pickett’s high-flying offense, was the Clay Today girls soccer player of the year for her courageous return and her leadership in taking the reigns late in the season in the Lady Spartans’ state run push in 2016. Without missing a step, Newton again is the Clay Today girls soccer player of the year in 2017 for taking the Lady Spartans to their record-setting sixth title.

Now, couple that with her status as just a junior at St. Johns and there is a real possibility for a first-ever third player of year award next year and also a seventh championship ring.

Newton has already earned the Florida Dairy Farmer’s Class 1A player of year award while finishing fifth in the Florida Dairy Farmer’s all-classes player of year count.

Not a bad season.

Joining Newton will be a handful of her teammates on the Clay Today First Team All County, but up front in the scoring position are teammates Payton Crews on one side and Kamy Loustau on the other with Clay High shredders Brooke Green and Lissy Stoffel adding to an impressive scoring machine that would light up scoreboards if an opportunity put them on the same team. Crews, a junior also, has been on Newton’s side or nearby throughout both girls careers and finished with 25 goals and 21 assists with her primary scoring angle coming left to right in front of enemy goals.

Loustau, a sophomore, has established herself on the opposite side, as a similiar slasher as Crews with her strong, inside game putting 31 goals on the board with 12 assists.

Green, who has the speed to break downfield quickly in a Blue Devil offensive assault, also has the bulk strength to battle in front of the net for her county leading 37 goals and 26 assists. Green surpassed the 100 career goals mark before the end of the 2017 season and led Clay to a region playoff berth in her span while the Blue Devils had to contend in district play to perennial power Ponte Vedra High School.

Stoffel, as adept at maneuvering in front of the goal as Green with her own 28 goals and 28 assists, offered coach Stephanie Waugh a double shotgun of scoring prowess with her own 100 goal career in four years.

At the midfield stripe, St. Johns puts junior Alisa Detlefsen at the controls of pushing the ball downfield to where Newton, Crews and Loustau might be for scoring opportunities with her 27 assists leading the Spartans.

Joining Detlefsen as the quarterback of their respective teams are Liz Fogarty of Clay, a junior with 17 goals, 18 assists, who matched up well with her aggressive play style and cannon-powered leg for strong strikes from afar and junior Sade Adamolekun, of Fleming Island, who transferred in in 2017 and immediately became the impact player for coach Darrell Ivey with 22 goals and 12 assists. Finally, probably one of the fastest players in the county, Oakleaf High junior Michelle Kanaskie, with her 16 goals, completes the midfield foursome.

On the defensive end of the field, St. Johns senior Olivia Schultz parlayed some experience from watching big sister Maddie Schultz’ years of play in front her (Now at Air Force Academy) into being a stalwart for Pickett in front of goal. Oakleaf junior Zoe Perez was coach Bret Rountree’s wall on defense that usually marked up the top scoring threat from opposing teams while Ridgeview High senior Anna Nesi has been a mainstay for coach Trevor Clark.

In the goalie spot, though Spartan senior Cassidy Wasdin may not have the huge saves numbers of others, she was not found asleep at the wheel when her number was called upon in those rare moments an enemy imposed some offense past Schultz and the Spartan defenders. Wasdin answered HUGE with two magnificent shutout-saving saves; one off a penalty kick, in the Spartans’ 2-0 title win.