GAINESVILLE (March 14) -- St. Johns Country Day School coach Mike Pickett and senior forward Lauryn Mateo both earned Florida Dairy Farmer's coach and player of year nominations as the Lady Spartans entered a 12th straight championship game only to be thwarted by Lakeland Christian Academy in an upset of sorts between two known rivals.
"I think every kid that has played here has had the thought of the attention to not being on the team that ends the streak, but it was inevitable," said Pickett, after his 2-1 loss to fellow Class 2A coach of the year nominee Jason Streets of Lakeland Christian. "As a coach, it will be a teaching moment for me after a week or two of thinking about it."
Note: Streets was chosen as the Class 2A coach of the year and will be in mix for the Dairy Farmer Coach of the Year honor.
From Pickett's 2023, senior Lauryn Mateo continued a Lady Spartan record of Dairy Farmer nominees over the past two decades.
Every finalist was the leading vote-getter in their classification, making each one the Player of the Year or Coach of the Year in that class. The 2023 Miss Soccer and Girls’ Soccer Coach of the Year will be announced following a final round of balloting by coaches and media.

Following are the six finalists for the 2023 Miss Soccer Award:

Grace Ivey, Bartram Trail, Senior, Midfield, Class 7A Player of the Year. Ivey, daughter to former Fleming Island High School girls soccer coach, scored 19 goals and and added 35 assists in leading her squad to an unbeaten season and the Class 7A state championship. Signed to play soccer at Texas A&M. Also, Bartram Trail has a second nominee with senior forward Olivia Bori; 27 goals, 12 assists, on the Class 7A nominees list.

Meredith Pugh, Gulf Breeze, Senior, Midfield, Class 6A Player of the Year. Pugh scored 24 goals and added 17 assists in leading her squad to the Class 6A state championship. Signed to play soccer at Georgia Southern.

Ryleigh Acosta, Mariner, Junior, Forward, Class 5A Player of the Year. Acosta, scored 25 goals and added 21 assists in leading her squad to a state runnerup finish. Committed to play soccer at the University of Florida.

Leah Finkelman, North Broward Prep, Senior, Forward, Class 4A Player of the Year. Finkelman scored 36 goals and added 26 assists in leading her squad to the regional semifinals. Committed to play soccer at the University of Pennsylvania.

Annalise Cannada, The Bolles School, Senior, Forward, Class 3A Player of the Year. Cannada scored 26 goals and added 13 assists in leading her team to the state Final Four. Committed to play soccer at the University of Kentucky.

Lauryn Mateo, St. Johns Country Day, Senior, Midfield, Class 2A Player of the Year. Mateo scored 18 goals and added six assists in leading her squad to a Class 2A state runnerup finish. Signed to play soccer at Embry-Riddle.

Following are the six finalists for the 2023 Coach-of-the-Year Award:

Jen Rodriguez, Bartram Trail, Class 7A Coach of the Year, Rodriguez, who tied St. Johns Country Day School 1-1 in regular season play, led her team to a 21-0-2 record and the Class 7A state championship, the school’s third state title in the past four years (2020-21, 2023). Ranked No. 1 nationally by both the United Soccer Coaches and MaxPreps. In 22 years, she has posted a 359-93-43 record.

Albert Gatica, Gulf Breeze, Class 6A Coach of the Year. Gatica, who beat Fleming Island in the region final in a double overtime victory, led his team to a 20-2-1 record and the Class 6A state title, the program’s first state championship since winning back-to-back titles 2000 cand 2001. Gatica has a 51-9-4 record in three years at Gulf Breeze.

Jami Hagy, Mariner, Class 5A Coach of the Year. Hagy led her team to an 18-5-1 record and a Class 5A state runnerup finish. In six years at Mariner, she has posted a 97-29-15 record with a state title in 2022.

Amy Geltz, Bishop Moore, Class 4A Coach of the Year. Geltz, who lost a 4-2 regular season match with St. Johns Country Day School, led her squad to a 20-2-3 record and the school’s second straight Class 4A state title. In 10 years at Bishop Moore, Geltz has a 159-49-25 record with a state runnerup finish in 2016.

Hillary Carney, Benjamin, Class 3A Coach of the Year. Carney led her squad to a 15-1-1 record and a spot in the state Final Four after a state runnerup finish in 2022. In five years at Benjamin she has posted a 56-15-8 record, including a 44-5-3 record the past three years.

Jason Streets, Lakeland Christian, Class 2A Coach of the Year. Streets led his squad to a 21-2-2 record and a third straight state title by ending St. Johns Country Day’s 11-year state title streak with a 2-1 victory in the championship game. In 18 years at LCS, Streets has four state runnerup finishes and five other Final Four appearances to go along with three state titles (two in Class 3A). Streets got 130 votes while Pickett totaled 61 for the Class 2A coach of the year nomination.

Also nominated in the initial round of players and coaches of year choices were; in Class 6A, Fleming Island senior forward Kaitlyn Scherer and Fleming Island coach Joy Rosano.
In Class 5A, Clay High sophomore forward Kirra Dodson, with 34 goals, and Clay senior defender Savannah Green were chosen. Clay coach Stephanie Waugh was also nominated.
In Class 3A, Keystone Heights sophomore Kiersten Shaw, with 71 goals and 19 assists, was nominated.