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BY DAN STICKRADT
WEB AND CONTENT EDITOR | DIRECTOR OF NEWS
Premier Media Group | National Soccer Network and affiliates
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ST. JOHNS, Fla. – Hailey Smith understands to be successful out on the soccer pitch, you have to have great team chemistry and all parts must play in harmonic motion.
St. Johns Creekside has all of that – and much more. These days, the Knights are singing some sweet harmony.
The defending Class 7A Florida girls soccer state champions are very good. The Knights have emerged as a state powerhouse in recent years, winning state titles in 2021 and 2024. This year they are again loaded and putting up gaudy numbers on the offensive end while fielding as stingy of a defense as they come.
Smith, a junior, is a third-year starting goalkeeper at St. Johns Creekside who was in net during last year’s 7A state championship run and has logged more than 90 percent of the minutes in goal for Creekside this season. Her back line and midfield in front of her definitely has great chemistry and the ability to click like quite a unit. Up top, the attacking players are having little problems finding the back of the net.
As a unit, they are all one.
“We do have great chemistry on this team,” said Smith, who on the ECNL club circuit is considered one of the top goalkeepers in the nation in her age group. “Three of our four starting defenders are also teammates in club. A lot of us play club (soccer) and are in the same club (but different age groups). We play well together and I think that is a big part (for the success).”
The uber-talented Knights are sailing perhaps into some incredible waters as the top defensive team in Florida if not the nation. If Creekside can defend a state title this year – Messick often reminds her players that there are no guarantees in life and the Knights’ season could end at any time – they will clearly go down in the history books as one of Florida’s all-time great teams.
If they don’t repeat as state champions, the team’s overall numbers still warrant attention in the Florida books, especially defensively.
Messick, who was an assistant coach the last three years under now-retired head coach Joe Soto, has kept this train rolling in the right direction and picking up steam. Coming from a coaching heritage – her father has also coached high school soccer in the state for more than 30 years – Creekside has the tools to make another deep postseason run.
St. Johns Creekside, the suburban Jacksonville high school nestled some 20 miles west of town – the Jacksonville area is one of Florda’s power pockets in terms of club and high school soccer talent – fields a squad that boasts talent in abundance. The Knights have tremendous balance, depth and, of course, they have the right chemistry.
As the Class 7A state champions in two of the last four seasons, the Knights are the No. 1-ranked team in in Class 7A by the Florida High School Soccer Coaches Association state rankings. In the Florida High School Athletic Association power rankings, the Knights entered the postseason No. 1 not just in Class 7A, but in the entire state overall – and that includes seven classes and over 550 total schools in Florida that have girls soccer programs and are member schools of the FHSAA.
Oh, that’s right. St. Johns Creekside also recently took over the No. 1 spot in the United Soccer Coaches Girls Soccer Winter National rankings, where around a dozen state compete in shifts during November through April. Could this help with momentum, apply additional pressure, or be the kiss of death with a huge bullet on the backs of the players.
“We haven’t won anything yet,” reminded first-year head coach Lexie Messick, who also coaches in the ECNL club system with the Florida Elite and played collegiately at the NCAA Division II level at Flager College in St. Augustine. “This group is fun to coach. They are very care-free. Maybe a little bit too much? They are always having fun in practice and they get along well. But when the game starts, they are very serious.”
Following Tuesday’s 6-0 victory over Sanford (Fla.) Seminole, Creekside advanced to the Class 7A regional semifinals (Round of 16). The Knights will play in the next round Friday night against Winter Park (Fla.) High School, which carries a 11-3-1 record, a No. 15 ranking in Class 7A and a No. 46 overall status into the game Feb. 7 on St. Johns Creekside own pitch.
“We can’t get caught looking too far ahead,” offered Messick. “There are some teams out there that are very good.”
Of the top 20 teams in Class 7A, several are still remaining in the state tournament, and all are hopeful of a Final Four appearance at the end of February.
Taking care of business up until this point, Creekside is riding an impressive 13-game win streak this season. Dating back to last season, the Knights are on a 23-game unbeaten streak and that includes a sterling 22-0-1 record in that stretch spanning parts of two seasons.
The Knights’ last taste of defeat? Well, that came back on Feb. 1, 2024, against school district arch-rival St. Johns Bartram Trail, where the Bears outlasted Creekside 2-1 in overtime in the conference tournament finals. Creekside was able to exact a huge measure of revenge on Feb. 21, 2024, where the Knights prevailed in a shootout 2-1 in last year’s regional finals.
The Knights’ two-year run heading into Friday’s regional semifinals is 33-1-3.
Last year, Creekside posted eight shutouts as part of their 16-1-2 record and outscored the opposition 71-14 for a plus-57 scoring edge. This season has been even better numbers-wise, although the program did graduate six key players from last year’s roster. Gone to the college ranks are Avery Robinson (UCLA) and Chloe Iliff (Lipscomb University), two big-time players and key cogs in last year’s championship run.
What has aided much of Florida and particularly Creekside in recent years is that ECNL club players, including at local clubs Florida Elite FC and Jacksonville FC, can play high school soccer November through February before rejoining their club sides for the remainder of the school year.
While Creekside’s array of offensive weapons has more than done their collective job by scoring 71 goals this season – Smith and her defense have allowed just the three goals as part of the 17-0-1 record. For those keeping record, that’s a team goals-against-average of 0.17 – one of the top five lowest in state history – and the 15 clean sheets also ranks in the top 25 in Florida history.
While Smith is the final guardian under the framework, seniors Baelyn McMillan (University of North Florida) and Hannah Campanaro and juniors Emma Dresback and Logan Griffin have been almost a brick wall around the final third of the field. Smith and junior classmate Pauline Brownstein have only seen three goals sneak by both the defense and netminders.
While the team goals-against-average is sterling, Smith’s individual GAA is only slightly above that and that leads the state. Playing in again over 90 percent of the available minutes in goal, Smith has helped record the single-season school record 15 clean sheets and counting.
In fact, only three schools – Edgewood (5-1, Nov. 8), Timber Creek (1-1, Nov. 22) and Ponte Verde (2-1, Dec. 19) have even scored against the Knights’ dominant and stingy defense, and each of those contests came back in November and December during the first half of the campaign.
Since giving up that last goal in late December, the Knights have pitched seven straight shutouts while Creekside has clean sheets in 12 of their last 13 games. In the 2025 calendar year, the team has not surrendered a single goal. The team has posted a state-leading .972-win percentage and posted shutouts in 15 of 18 games, or an .834 percentage of games ending in a clean sheet.
As for offensive weapons, Creekside has plenty.
Athletic senior Brooke Godoy, who did not play high school soccer as a junior, has given a lift to the offensive machine with 14 goals and seven assists. Senior forward/midfielder Lily Paisant (Florida Atlantic University) is a future NCAA Division I talent and has 15 goals and 10 assists.
Sophomore midfielder Sarah Weisberg – who scored the game-winning goal during the 2024 state championship match – has nine goals and seven assists, while sophomore newcomer Camila Adame is also a fine playmaker in the center of the park. Adame – who missed the two district wins due to playing with the Puerto Rico U-17 National Team at a recent international tournament – and Weisberg are two of the top sophomores in the state of Florida and also key parts of the attack. Both are projected to be NCAA Division I-level prospects.
Seniors Samantha Colvin (M), Ava Mark (M), Amber Amann (M/D) and Kennedy Mauer (M/D) and juniors Savannah Hartford (F/M) and Jaclyn Bessman – a midfielder committed to NCAA Division I Kennesaw State University – are all returning letterwinners and gaining key minutes on a deep roster.
Following Adame, seniors Riley Newkirk and Michaela Frazier, juniors Ella Till and aforementioned Pauline Brownstein, and sophomores Gabby Camero and Evie Vallas are first-year varsity players. A plus-68 goals differential has allowed Messick the ability to play deep rotations and the flexibility to move players around gives everyone some valuable minutes. Over 75 percent of the roster has points in terms of goals and assists but not one player has numbers offensively amongst the state leaderboards.
While Creekside has enjoyed the ride thus far with its high ranking and unbeaten record, Messick hasn’t had any problems keeping the group humble yet hungry. The numbers speak for themselves.
“They are motivated, and as I said once the game begins they are very focused,” she said. “We just hope to keep it going. Sure, we would love a chance to defend our title but at the same time we understand that at this (stage) there are no easy games. Everyone left is a very good team.”
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COURTESY PHOTO | ST. JOHNS CREEKSIDE GIRLS SOCCER
St. Johns (Fla.) Creekside High School has posted an unbeaten season and a sterling 0.17 team goals-against-average with a single-season school record 15 shutouts heading into this week's Florida High School Athletic Association Class 7A regionals.
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(Have a story suggestion for the Premier Media Group and the National Soccer Network regarding club/youth soccer, high school varsity, amateur soccer, collegiate soccer or professional soccer involving teams, players or coaches with ties to a particular state or states, contact Web and Content Editor/Director of News Dan Stickradt via email at dstickradt@thepremiermediagrp.com and news@nationalsoccernetwork.com, or call 248-525-2349. Dan Stickradt is a 32-year veteran of the Michigan and national media circles and recently joined the staff full time at PMG in March of 2024. Want to schedule a broadcast game or live show, contact PMG/NSN Director of Broadcasting Jonathan Turner for availability and pricing at jonathan@thepremiermediagrp.com.)
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