Dr. Phillips girls soccer team is primed to peak | Observer Preps

The match had ended, Dr. Phillips had won, but the understanding among the Panthers was mutual.

Yes, the team from Harmony High that Dr. Phillips had just defeated Jan. 9 is good — the Longhorns are 14-3-2, including that result. 

But the Panthers had had a long layoff for the holiday and, from the first whistle, head coach Donny George felt his team was off. The silver lining, though, was that in spite of that, DP still earned the 2-1 victory.

“Our last game was two-and-a-half weeks ago, and ... it shows,” George said. “The positive is we won — we still won, and that’s what champions do.”

“Champions” is the key word, and that is what the Panthers are intent on becoming — district champions, regional champions and, hopefully, even state champions. 

Ahead of next week's district tournament, Dr. Phillips is 15-1-1 and eyeing program records this season in wins (16 is the magic number), goals conceded (the Panthers have conceded eight goals and the record is nine) and goals scored by a single player (Chloe Washington’s 29 goals is five off the program record of 34).

They also are hoping to make the program’s deepest postseason run yet and George and his team know that effort will start on the defensive side of the ball — where Dr. Phillips has been suffocatingly good all season.

“It’s no secret — we work on defense a lot. ... If you look back at every single game, my goalkeeper probably has one or two shots (on goal) the whole game — and that’s because we defend as a team.”

— Donny George, Head coach

“It’s no secret — we work on defense a lot,” George said. “I’m a defensive player, and my background is defense, so it’s very important that my team defends as a team. If you look back at every single game, my goalkeeper probably has one or two shots (on goal) the whole game — and that’s because we defend as a team.”

In addition to allowing just eight goals, the Panthers and goalkeeper Launa Foreman have 10 shutouts to their credit.

This season has the potential to be the best yet in a string of seasons that have been good to the program. Dating back to when current seniors were freshmen in 2014-15, the program has earned double-digit wins each season — winning as many as 15 games in 2014-15 — and even won a district title in 2015-16.

But there have been no playoff wins to accompany the regular-season success. Senior captain Stephanie Oliveira is confident this year’s team can break through, though, and that confidence is rooted in the group’s growing unity.

“It’s the way we’ve developed as a family,” Oliveira said, reflecting on the team’s success this season. “Together, as one, we become this unit that won’t break apart. … We have to stay as a family.”

Dr. Phillips closed the regular season Jan. 18 with an 8-1 Senior Night win against Lake Brantley to celebrate its seniors such as Oliveira, fellow captains Carmel de Oliveira and Madison Lamb, and others who have been a part of the program’s turnaround these past few seasons.

Now, it’s on to the Class 5A, District 4 Tournament, beginning Jan. 22 at Apopka High.

The pressure is on, and neither the Panthers nor their second-year coach are prepared to let up now.

“I am a demanding coach — I always talk about perfection,” George said. “I think that Dr. Phillips has to be competitive.”