There was only one area school to make a final four in girls soccer last year.

In fact, the P.K. Yonge girls made their first ever state semifinal appearance in program history before falling to nationally ranked Montverde Academy, 3-0, in the FHSAA Class 3A state semifinals.

Most of that team is back, as they only lost two seniors from last year’s 16-4-3 team.

“There’s just excitement, anticipation,” said P.K. Yonge coach Rebecca Schackow, who finished third in the voting for the Florida Dairy Farmers Class 3A Coach of the Year last year. “They just couldn’t wait to get back together and start this season. Even the first day of tryouts was exciting, and upbeat, and everyone was happy to be back together.”

Leading the way will be senior forward Faith Hardy, who was among the area’s leading scorers with 39 goals, and senior midfielder Mae Dodd (10 goals and 10 assists).

Hardy, runner-up for the 3A Player of the Year, has committed to Palm Beach Atlantic University, a Division-II school in West Palm Beach, while Dodd committed to University of South Carolina-Aiken, a D-II school which competes in the Peach Belt Conference.

After a state semifinal appearance, now the Lady Blue Wave go from the hunter to the hunted.

“I expect that we are going to have a challenging season because of our schedule,” Schackow said. “It’s different now, we aren’t underdogs, we’re history makers…this is new (hunted). It’s a different feeling.”

After winning the 3A-District 4 title last year, the Lady Blue Wave drop down to Class 2A and will compete in 2A-District 3 in 2024-25 with Newberry, Trenton, Williston and Trinity Catholic (Ocala).

P.K. Yonge, which is seeking its sixth straight district title, will open the season at Class 5A Fleming Island (Orange Park) on Tuesday.

Trenton, which finished 7-10-1 last year and was the 2A-District 2 runner-up, returns six starters.

“Coming into a new district we want to be competitive and prove we can compete at a high level,” said Trenton coach Jayson Langley, who has a very young team but said their “skill and drive are top tier.”

The Lady Tigers travel to Seven Rivers Christian (Lecanto) on Thursday for the season opener.

Santa Fe (Alachua) finished 8-7-1 and advanced to the Class 4A state playoffs following a win against Suwannee (Live Oak) in the 4A-District 2 championship game.

The Lady Raiders drop down to 3A this year and will compete in 3A-District 4 along with Eastside, Keystone Heights, Palatka, Interlachen and North Marion (Citra).

Keystone Heights (12-7-1), which is coached by Roger Laurent, lost to P.K. Yonge, 5-0, in the 3A-District 4 title game last season.

Eastside has a new coach in Sara LeBlanc. The Lady Rams finished just 1-14-1 last year but they have 18 returning players, which includes combined JV and varsity teams from last season.

Top returners include seniors Jade Haven, Mandela Marsh, Amiracle Holmes, Lucia Summerford, Macy Morris, Kikyo Johnson, and Dharani Bommadi.

“Coming in as a new coach, my expectations are high for this group of girls,” said LeBlanc, who spent three years as a head coach for middle school soccer but her first as a varsity coach. “My goal for the team is to win as many games as we can, but to also have a great experience playing for their school and together as a team. 

“I want the players to walk off the field at the end of the year feeling grateful for the moments and friendships that they were able to create as a result of being a part of the team…I am so excited to be a part of this program, and I can’t wait to see it grow and flourish.”

The Gainesville High girls are hoping to win a district title this year after falling to Forest (Ocala), 1-0, in the 6A-District 4 semifinals. However, just three starters return for coach Jeremy Witt’s team, which will be young in 2024-25.

The Lady Hurricanes, who finished 11-4-2 last year, their best season in 20 years, will move to 5A-District 5 and compete with Belleview, Lecanto, Leesburg, and Springstead (Spring Hill).

Goalie Sophie Vaughan is back for her senior year along with sophomore Raegynn Witt, who scored a hat trick in the opening preseason game.

GHS will open the regular season at home on Wednesday at 7 p.m. against Lincoln (Tallahassee).

Columbia, which lost in the 5A-District 2 semifinals last season, moves to District 3.

The Lady Tigers, who are coached by Chip Garner in his eighth season, return 10 starters. They have key games against Chiles (Tallahassee), Wakulla (Crawfordville), who they will play twice, and Ridgeview (Orange Park).

“We are using the tougher schedule to prepare ourselves for getting beyond districts for a second time in school history,” Garner said.

Buchholz, which lost in last year’s 6A-District 4 semifinals, moves to District 3, along with Bartram Trail (St. Johns), Matanzas (Palm Coast), Nease (Ponte Vedra), and Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine).

I’ll have a preview of boys soccer on Monday.