KEYSTONE HEIGHTS - The Keystone Heights High girls soccer team nearly opened the 2026 portion of their season with fireworks, but the Lady Indians fell short, 3-2, to Newberry High (14-1-1) in the first match of 2026 on Jan. 6.

Keystone Heights held a 2-1 halftime lead before Newberry put two in the net in the second half for the win. Led by Halea Lam and Kayden Huntley, both being in the top five in the district for team points and top 10 in goals scored, the Lady Indians of Keystone Heights High have stayed within a game or two of the top district spot with a 5-5-2 record. Up top, Interlachen and North Marion are at 8-3-1 and 5-3-1, respectively, with all three plus Santa Fe holding no losses in district play.

Keystone Heights does not play North Marion until possible districts. The Lady Indians hosted Interlachen on Dec. 17.

District 4-3A
Team, Record, District record

1. North Marion 8-4-1, 2-0
2. Santa Fe 1-12-1, 1-0
3. Interlachen 10-5-2, 4-0-1
4. Keystone Heights 5-8-3, 1-0-1
5. Eastside 2-7-0, 1-3
6. Palatka 5-12-0, 0-6

Fleming Island ties 7A champs Bartram Trail

FLEMING ISLAND - Fleming Island girls soccer ended 2025 with a near upset of three-time 7A champion Bartram Trail with the Golden Eagles losing a 2-1 advantage late in the second period to finish with a 2-2 tie against the perennial powerhouse.

Fleming Island High's girls soccer team tied, won and lost close to three top St. Johns County teams with coach Taylor Berry seeing a trend for her young roster.

"When our team was finally selected, we had a whole bunch of freshmen and sophomores with little varsity level experience and we took some lumps; six freshmen on the team," said Berry, now 5-4-1 with a slew of state ranks on her schedule. "I think we are starting to see the younger players find their strengths and weaknesses and working it on the field. They are gelling better now."

Berry recently had a week of games including a 1-1 tie with Nease (6-3-2), a 3-0 win over Tocoi Creek (6-3-2) and a 3-1 loss to Beachside (7-2-2), who lost a 5-2 match to undefeated Ponte Vedra on Jan. 6.

"We got into the regions last year because of our strength of schedule and I will always put tough teams on our schedule," said Berry, who coaches with her former Fleming Island teammate Mikki Olson. "We are going to get some losses, but we are also going to be playing the best teams we can."

Led by Rylie Gardner's fast feet down the sidelines for breakaway goals, Berry has gotten goals along the way from junior Aubrey Taylor and freshman Ava Davie (third goal in Tocoi Creek game).

"Rylie is very skilled and technical and teams know how she plays, "Berry said. "Ava is great up top with Angel Coyle, both freshmen, being very quick. In the middle is junior Hayley Sakowski with Ellie King delivering the ball downfield."

In Class 5A first half season rankings, Ponte Vedra is ranked number one, Beachside is fifth, Clay is 12th and Fleming Island is 17th.

Lady Spartans tie Lakeland Christian 0-0

St. Johns Country Day School took a road trip to south Florida to meet up with former annual rival Lakeland Christian and came back with an 0-0 tie. The Lady Spartans also played at All Saints Academy in Winter Haven with a 4-0 win to push to an 8-2-2 and a number one rank in Class 1A; 22nd in Florida.

Lakeland Christian, a former Class 1A rival, now in Class 2A, is ranked seventh at 9-1-1.

St. Johns and Lakeland met as state playoff rivals years ago. Spartans coach Mike Pickett has relied on senior Victoria Sarka as his main offensive weapon with 14 goals as senior Reygan Ropero injured her knee before the season began. Sarka is getting help on the goals front from seniors Calli Berang and Maddie Baumann with freshman Adi Taylor adding goals as well.

St. Johns finished 2025 with Christ's Church Academy (Dec. 16) and 4A champion Bishop Moore (3-5-3) on the road on Dec. 19. Bishop Moore was 4A runner-up to American Heritage and state champion in 2024.

Lady Knights get two on SJCDS, lose to 7A Creekside

Oakleaf High's fast-paced girls soccer got a 2-1 lead early on St. Johns Country Day School with Kendyl Banks hammering the go-ahead goal but the Lady Spartans answered with four second half goals to win 6-2 in a solid game for Oakleaf.

Oakleaf then took on second ranked 7A Creekside and lost a 3-0 match as the Lady Knights hold a 4-3-1 season record. Banks is top scorer with nine scores with teammate Aryana Weintraub adding four.

Oakleaf finished 2025 with Tocoi Creek (Dec. 15) and West Nassau (Dec. 17). They had a Jan. 12 road trip to Fleming Island.

Middleburg reverses five game losing skid

Middleburg opened up their season with five losses including a 3-1 battle with St. Johns Country Day School, but coach Joy Rosano had figured things out to win four, tie one and lose a 2-0 game to St. Augustine.

One good reason may be putting volleyball ace Maysie Bader up top, as the fleet-footed battler has been a force for the Broncos offense attack. Bader scored within the first three minutes on a breakaway goal for the solo goal in a 1-0 win over a tough Matanzas team on Dec. 17.

Middleburg rocked Orange Park 5-0 with three first half goals and two in the second half before rocking Crescent City, 8-0, and Sandalwood, 9-1, in back-to-back scoring sprees. Middleburg had three homes games to finish 2025 with Mandarin (Dec. 15), Duval Charter (Dec. 16) and Clay (Dec. 18) with Clay at 5-1-2.

Lady Indians wrap three shutouts around two losses

Led by Halea Lam and Kayden Huntley's 10 and eight goals, the Lady Indians of Keystone Heights High have stayed within a game or two of the top district spot with a 5-5-2 record. Up top, Interlachen and North Marion are at 8-3-1 and 5-3-1, respectively, with all three plus Santa Fe holding no losses in district play.
Keystone Heights does not play North Marion until possible districts. The Lady Indians hosted Interlachen on Dec. 17.

Ridgeview wins three of last four

Ridgeview High girls soccer has exploded for three wins in their last four games to improve to 3-5-1 with wins over Bishop Snyder, Keystone Heights and Orange Park. The lone loss was an 8-0 to Clay. Ridgeview had a Dec. 15 game at St. Augustine to end 2025.