The Oviedo and Winter Springs girls soccer teams were decisive in their Class 6A, District 3 semifinal wins on Wednesday at Hagerty High School. On Friday night they’ll meet up with the district title, and home field advantage in the region semifinals next week, on the line.

In both games, the winning teams controlled the tempo for most of the way even as Winter Springs needed a little extra time to settle things in overtime.

“Our girls stepped up and played as hard as they could to get [that last goal] when they needed to,” said head coach Kurt Oettl.

Oviedo, on the other hand, is right back where it was a year ago and hope to make the most of the position they’re in once again.

“A district tournament can help set you up for later and get you on a roll,” said Oviedo coach Scott Waisanen.

– No. 2 Winter Springs (14-5-3) over No. 3 Lake Mary (10-6-2)

In a matchup featuring two of Seminole County’s best goalkeepers – Shelby Savolainen of Winter Springs and Megan Lynch of Lake Mary – the real story was how the Bears nearly squandered away the game before coming out on top 2-1 in overtime.

Winter Springs controlled possession of the ball for much of the night, to the point where Lake Mary was unable to get as much as a shot on goal until nearly 10 minutes had passed in the second half.

The Bears were aggressive on the offensive end of the field as senior forwards Vanessa Aponte and Shelby Guenthardt, and junior midfielder Taylor Hoch forced Lynch into a busy night in the net.

Aponte scored the games first goal, her 26th of the season, when she drilled a free kick from just outside the box that landed into the lower left corner of the net a little more than eight minutes into the game.

The 1-0 lead held up most of the way, until Lake Mary junior defender Rachel Buffalo bounced a soft header past a defender as Savolainen was caught out of position to tie the game with less than nine minutes to play. It was just the fourth legitimate opportunity the Rams could muster on goal.

The overtime period didn’t last long, though. Aponte had two shots on goal saved by Lynch, the last of which was a spectacular diving effort that set up the game-winning corner kick. Once the kick sailed to the far post it bounced back toward the front of the goal off of the foot of a Winter Springs player and was promptly tapped in by junior midfielder Meredith Ciocca to end the game.

Lynch finished with nine saves in the loss but saw plenty more shots sail off the mark from the likes of senior midfielders Samantha Murphy and Michelle Samper.

– No. 1 Oviedo (17-4-1) over No. 5 Lake Brantley (8-9-3)

Oviedo has carried the torch as Central Florida’s top girls soccer team for much of the season, routinely bringing the best out of their opponents after advancing to the state semifinals a year ago.

It took some time to settle down on Wednesday during a 3-0 win over the Patriots, but the slow start did nothing to take away from a dominant effort.

Led by the aggressive play of junior midfielders Katie O’Kennedy and Morgan Campbell, the Lions continued to apply the pressure until Lake Brantley eventually broke down the stretch.

Despite missing its mark on a barrage of shots, Oviedo took an early 1-0 lead when a throw-in from April Asby slipped through the hands of keeper Lilian Valle for the first score of the night.

In typical fashion, the Lions moved the ball through a multitude of positions and had no less than 10 different players take a shot in the direction of Lake Mary’s goal.

Late in the game, Erin Phillips punched in a goal on a deflected save following a long attempt from a teammate and O’Kennedy added another goal less than three minutes later.

– More Local Girls Soccer Coverage –

Game recap at Orlando Sentinel

Game photos by Stephen M. Dowell