Gulf Breeze and Pensacola Catholic Soccer Teams Win District Titles

Gulf Breeze girls soccer rolls to back-to-back district championships, while Pensacola Catholic boys and girls teams get revenge against South Walton.

Jan. 27, 2026 at 11:23pm

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The Gulf Breeze girls soccer team cruised to a 4-0 victory over Choctawhatchee to win their second consecutive district title. Meanwhile, both the Pensacola Catholic boys and girls teams defeated South Walton to claim their respective district championships after losing to the Seahawks the previous year.

Why it matters

These district title wins secure playoff berths for the Gulf Breeze and Pensacola Catholic soccer programs, setting them up for potential deep postseason runs. The Gulf Breeze girls team is looking to build on their 2023 state championship, while the Pensacola Catholic squads are seeking redemption after falling short against South Walton last season.

The details

The Gulf Breeze girls scored three goals in the first 17 minutes to take control of the district final against Choctawhatchee. Junior forwards Norah Petermann, Emmaline Sloman, and senior midfielder Ava Biland found the back of the net early to put the game out of reach. Sloman added a second goal in the second half. On the boys side, Pensacola Catholic and South Walton were tied 1-1 after regulation and two overtime periods, before the Crusaders prevailed in a penalty kick shootout to claim the district title. Jaxon Bachierri scored the lone goal for Pensacola Catholic in regulation.

  • The district final matches were played on January 27, 2026.
  • The Gulf Breeze girls scored three goals in the first 17 minutes of the game.
  • The Pensacola Catholic boys and girls teams will play their regional quarterfinal matches on February 2 or 3, 2026.

The players

Gulf Breeze

A high school soccer program located in Gulf Breeze, Florida that has won back-to-back district championships in girls soccer.

Pensacola Catholic

A high school soccer program in Pensacola, Florida that won district titles in both boys and girls soccer, seeking redemption after losing to South Walton the previous year.

South Walton

A high school soccer program in South Walton, Florida that lost to Pensacola Catholic in the district finals after defeating both the Crusaders' boys and girls teams the previous season.

Emmaline Sloman

A junior forward for the Gulf Breeze girls soccer team who scored two goals in the district final.

Jaxon Bachierri

A player for the Pensacola Catholic boys soccer team who scored the lone goal in regulation of the district final against South Walton.

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What they’re saying

“We made sure not to get in our heads because we had beaten them (6-0) before. And so we made sure it wasn't like 'oh we're gonna win' we made sure to be strong mentally.”

— Emmaline Sloman, Junior forward

“Our front three with those three have been very productive. And what excites me is they're juniors this year. I'll be able to have them in my back pocket for next year as well.”

— Albert Gatica, Gulf Breeze head coach

“Just like this might not be a hard game but going into regionals is going to be a hard game, and we know some of the teams in our region are very good teams. Just trying to practice that and incorporate everybody and not just take shots that we know we'll probably make in this game but realistic things for next game.”

— Avril Clark, Senior captain

What’s next

The Gulf Breeze girls and Pensacola Catholic boys and girls teams will all host regional quarterfinal matches on either February 5 or 6, 2026. The winners will advance to the regional semifinals.

The takeaway

These district title wins demonstrate the strength of the soccer programs in the Pensacola area, with Gulf Breeze and Pensacola Catholic continuing to be among the top teams in their respective classifications. The Dolphins and Crusaders will look to carry this momentum into the regional tournament as they seek to make deep playoff runs.