AUBURNDALE — It’s been a year of challenges for Auburndale girls soccer coach Tawanda Kaseke.
The season began with him having to replace several impact seniors from last year’s squad. Then in January, he had a couple of key players go down with injuries, none bigger than losing leading scorer Harli Head.
Yet it was a memorable year for the Bloodhounds despite seeing their season come to an end. Cypress Creek scored its goals in the last 21 minutes of the first half to defeat Auburndale, 4-0, on Wednesday night in the Class 5A, Region 2 semifinals at Bruce Canova Stadium.
“This season, we’ve had a lot of trials and challenges as a team from preseason trying to build the team,” Kaseke said, “so when we were able to win the district championship, that was a blast for the whole group, you know, especially for the players that got hurt during the season. There was something for us to be joyful about for everyone.”
Indeed. Auburndale got off to a slow start, going 2-3-1 in its first six matches then went on to win nine of its last 12 matches, winning the district title despite losing its leading scorer in early January.
Kaseke kept moving players around as he adjusted to the injuries.
“The girls stepped up great,” Kaseke said. “Everybody’s been phenomenal through the injuries. They worked hard. I’m proud of the girls.”
The loss of Head in January was the toughest challenge the Bloodhounds had to overcome. A junior, Head moved into a more offensive role this season, and she led the Bloodhounds with 14 goals.
“It’s been a project,” Kaseke said. “We’ve been working with her the last two years to prepare her for the season, so she’s been doing a lot of work as a forward preparing for this year, and she did great. She’s going to get surgery, and she’ll be back.”
And while senior Tyla O’Leary came back from a knee injury this season, the Bloodhounds lost senior Ava Mulling to an injury three games ago.
Kaseke is proud of the way his team battled all season, especially after Head was injured as Auburndale went on to win the district title. The Bloodhounds also have a strong core of underclassmen that helped lead the way.
While Head, a junior who will return next season, was the only scorer in double figures, sophomore Eliana Diederichs had seven goals, and Layla Williams has dis goal. Junior Audrey Skipper had three goals and six assists, Ava Williams had three goals and five assists and sophomore Bailey Knowlton had four goals and four assists. Defender Amber Cardona-Colon, who got hurt this year, is also a junior. Freshman Cameron Waters also was a key player at midfield.
“We’ve got a very strong group of girls coming back,” Kaseke said. “We’re going to work hard and get ready by next season.”
Against Cypress Creek, Auburndale played evenly for nearly the first 20 minutes, but the Coyotes began applying more pressure, getting corner kicks. Once they scored the first goal, they increased the pressure even more, and Auburndale couldn’t respond.
Kaseke said his players were ready, but it just wasn’t their night — but he’ll look back proudly on the season.
“This group is very special in the sense that we faced a lot of challenges,” he said. “We managed to bounce back every week. So, when we had to change formations, when we had to change positions, whoever was called upon was ready to go. So, you know, all special groups of teams. This year we had a lot of challenges, and they did well.”
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Playoff loss doesn’t take shine off season for Auburndale girls soccer
Reporting by Roy Fuoco, Lakeland Ledger / The Ledger
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
