Niceville boys soccer advances to semifinals

By JARED MACARIN

jaredm@nwfdailynew.com

NICEVILLE — It was the type of performance Niceville boys soccer coach Wes Nelson wanted to see.

The Eagles came out strong, got an early lead and coasted on their way to a 5-1 win over Tallahassee Chiles on Thursday in the Class 5A regional quarterfinals.

“Every coach likes to see a game that is not real close,” Nelson said.

Pedro Alba scored twice for Niceville (24-3-2), while Kevin Sims, Donnie Dorenkamp and Robbie Russell also had goals. Reed White had two assists, while Jake Pratt, Dorenkamp and Russell also helped out on goals.

Niceville, the District 1 champions, advances to the regional semifinals on Tuesday and will host Tallahassee Lincoln. Lincoln, the District 2 champion, beat Fort Walton Beach 4-1 on Thursday.

The Eagles’ lead was 5-0 with a little more than 10 minutes left when Chiles’ Steven Weeks scored to break Niceville’s shutout bid.

It was the third time the teams had met this season. They tied in the first game early in the season before Niceville earned a 5-0 win later in the year. This time, Nelson was confident the Eagles would be able to repeat the success of the second game.

“We knew how they were going to attack us, and I felt confident in our defense,” he said. “Our defense again did a great job tonight. And the offense took care of itself getting five goals against a good team.”

Sims was the first to score for Niceville, heading a ball in off a cross from Dorenkamp in the 16th minute. Twelve minutes later, White snuck a ball through the Timberwolves’ defense on a beautiful touch pass to Alba, who rocketed the ball into the back of the net.

Chiles (15-7-5) picked up the intensity after the Eagles got on the scoreboard, making numerous runs deep into Niceville’s side of the field. But the defense held long enough for the Eagles to build a comfortable margin.

Niceville, which advanced to the state semifinals last year, went straight to work in the second half to turn the game into a rout. Russell scored on a header off a Pratt corner kick in the 47th minute, and 10 minutes later Russell assisted to Dorenkamp on a goal. Alba then struck for the second time of the night in the 60th minute, firing a laser shot from just outside the box off White’s second assist.

“It was good, especially because we were able to play the whole team and get everybody touches,” Nelson said. “It just prepares you better for the next round.”