2021 SUN Preps All-Area Athletes & Teams
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Page 36 www.yoursun.com First Team Ashton Pennell (Venice senior) For her entire career, Pennell has been a force field around the net. Throughout this championship season, she simply got better each time out. In all, she recorded 11 shutouts – a round dozen if you count the state championship game, a 3-1 shootout victory that came after a scoreless regulation and two overtimes. In that victory against Lourdes Academy, Pennell made six saves and stuffed two penalty kicks. "She's worked really hard in prac- tices and training on that," Venice coach Gary Bolyard recently told The Daily Sun. "We knew it was going to be come down to something big, and she's been working hard on crafting her saves on those shots." She will be continuing her career at West Florida. Ragazzone is also headed to West Florida. Kiki Slattery (Venice senior) OK, so West Florida couldn't land all three of the area's Player of the Year finalists. Slattery is headed to North Florida after her stellar senior season at Venice. At the heart of her accomplishment, simply put, was much-needed lead- ership. Venice came into the season seeking someone to step in for Kat Jordan and Mason Schilling, who graduated as two of the most-decorated players in school history. A team-leading 27 goals and 18 assists later, Slattery can now count herself among the school's pantheon of stellar soccer standouts. Her efforts earned her Class 6A Player of the Year honors and made her a finalist for Florida Dairy Farmers' Miss Florida Soccer. Sophia Cherniak (Lemon Bay junior) A third-year starter, Cherniak was Lemon Bay's second-leading scorer this season with 21 goals and led the team with 23 assists. She has played every minute of every Lemon Bay game for the past three seasons. Rachel Dalton (Venice senior) The Ave Maria signee was second on the team with 20 goals with her last being the one that proved to be the game-winner in a 3-1 shootout win against Lourdes Academy for the Class 6A state title. Olivia Fair (Venice senior) Fair anchored the line in front of Pennell, keeping the number of opponents' shots on goal remarkably low. Venice surrendered just two non-shootout goals in its five state series matches. Izabella Ferjiani (Lemon Bay Senior) The sweeper has been a stalwart of Lemon Bay's defense and helped to ease freshman goalkeeper Isabella Raggazzone into the net. Under Ferjiani's leadership, the Mantas tallied 10 shutouts this season. Aleena Purvis (North Port senior) She finished her career with 67 goals (a school record) and 39 assists while proving herself a jack-of-trades by ably filling in on defense when sweeper Katelyn Buckmaster went down with injury against Braden River. Sierra Spirk (North Port sophomore) The Bobcats' rising star matched Raggazzone's 35 goals and totaled a school-record 78 points this season, essentially filling the void created when Purvis moved over to defense. She has 60 goals in just two years. Coach of the Year Gary Bolyard, Venice The 11th-year Venice coach was named the Florida Dairy Farmers Class 6A Coach of the Year for good reason – in addition to leading Venice to the state championship this season, he has guided the team at least as far as the regional championship game in each of the past three seasons. Second Team Adrianna Al-Arnasi (Imagine junior The Sharks' goalkeeper played a key role in the program's breakthrough season, permitting just 11 goals in 14 games. Sarah Freddolino (Venice junior) On a team loaded with athletes, Freddolino was one of the most versa- tile. After excelling at the defensive end this season, she'll likely move to midfielder in 2022. Emily Idoyaga (North Port senior) Set a North Port season record with 17 assists this past season and finished her career with 37, overall. Heather Knight (Lemon Bay senior) The Mantas' outside defender was as visible on the pitch as any of the team's goal-scorers due to her ability SUN PREPS ALL-AREA GIRLS SOCCER TEAM By VINNIE PORTELL SPORTS WRITER I t's hard to imagine a stronger season for area girls soccer, as Venice avenged heartbreak with a state title and Lemon Bay marched into its second consecutive Final Four. Venice won the Class 6A state title in a rematch with Lourdes Academy. In the process, goalkeeper Ashton Pennell accomplished a feat that will be regaled in fable and song around town for years to come. It was fitting that fellow senior Kiki Slattery knocked home the first of Venice's three shootout goals after the two teams played to a scoreless tie through regulation and overtime. To no one's surprise, Pennell, Slattery and Venice coach Gary Bolyard racked up a bushel of post- season honors from organizations throughout the state. Meanwhile, Lemon Bay proved its breakthrough 2020 season was no fluke when this year's edition returned to the Final Four. In the process, Lauren Ragazzone became the school's all-time leading scorer. She had plenty of help along the way (more on that later). While those two programs were the headliners, they weren't the only success stories. If North Port hadn't run into Venice in Class 6A Region 2, how deep a run could the Bobcats have made? Across town, Imagine set school records for wins (8), goals scored and goals allowed. Port Charlotte, Charlotte and DeSoto County found themselves in rebuilding seasons, but their futures are bright as several young players emerged at each school, including a strong freshman class at Port Charlotte. Venice, Lemon Bay lead all-area girl's soccer team Player of the year Lauren Ragazzone (Lemon Bay senior) Just mention the name to Lemon Bay coach Katie Cooke and she'll gush before you reach the second syllable of her first name. She'll tell you about her third-year captain's 130 career goals, including 35 this past season. She'll remind you she was the driving force behind Lemon Bay's first two region championships. "All these things are just her numbers; what people don't get to see is how hard she has worked to get where she is and the personality behind the talent," Cooke said this week. "She is not just a good player; she is a good person. It truly has been an honor and pleasure to watch her develop into the player and young woman she is today. Lauren's hard work, determination, and commitment to excellence are second to none." RAGAZZONE SEE GIRLS SOCCER, 37