ORANGE PARK - With the lone score of the game an errant toe tap that became a self-goal, the St. Johns Country Day School girls soccer team lost a 1-0 matchup against the top team in Florida, Niceville High, also the 12th ranked in Florida, on Tuesday at St. Johns Country Day School.

"We are never going to see a team with that kind of speed and athleticism any time soon," said Coach Mike Pickett, who has the Spartans —the Class 1A champion —at number 18 in Florida at 11-3-3 with Niceville, the region 1-6A runner-up last year to champion Bartram Trail, improving to 11-1-1. "Our defense played outstanding; Annabelle Ernst, Calli Berang and Catherine Ernst, with our goalie, Alyvia Bishop, basically shutting them out with 12 saves. The self-goal was just unlucky. They only had two shots in the first half; we just got tired."

In the first half, Niceville attacked from midfield methodically with sideline-to-sideline swing passes until an opening occurred and kept peppering the sides of the Spartans' zone type defense that shifted as Niceville executed almost a four-corner stall.

"With that kind of offense, I was expecting like 100 shots on goal, and I tried to keep sharp because they were just waiting for an opening to send a strike into the middle of the field," said Bishop, a senior. "My girls in front of me kept the angles on them, but they were moving quickly with one touch passes. Calli (Berang) did well to move quickly from side to side."

As the game progressed in the first half, mainly on the St. Johns defensive end of the field, the Eagles snapped a crossing path across the goal face that got tracked back in front of the net where a crowd stood, only to be deflected off a toe stab attempt by St. Johns defender Miley Desguin.

"We should have cleared it before the return strike and Miley just did what was natural when a ball is in front of the net," Bishop said. "I didn't have a clear path to the ball with my momentum going to the first strike from left to right. I would have had to dive and stretch to grab it. She did what anyone would have done to try and clear it. It was just unfortunate."

For Pickett, the moment was almost a defining teachable moment as his girls did not relent on their tenacity against the torrid Niceville offensive pressure.

"A lot of teams would have been upset with the goal, but this team is tough and they just kept chasing balls and playing hard," Pickett said. "In the second half, we started getting some breaks and got some opportunities."

In the second half, with top scorer Victoria Sarka looking for a long ball break away, the Spartans accounted for two corner kicks and a few Sarka breaks but could not get a solid shot on goal.

"We started to get Victoria down field, so our adjustments started to get her free, but they are very fast," Pickett said. "We did exactly what we wanted to do and they got an unlucky goal."