The P.K. Yonge girls soccer team is now a state championship contender.

Following a state semifinal appearance last year, the first in program history, the Lady Blue Wave are no longer the underdogs.

After consecutive losses in the region final, the third time was the charm last year as P.K. Yonge got two goals from Faith Hardy to eliminate Episcopal (Jacksonville), 2-1, in an FHSAA Class 3A-Region 1 Final.

After losses in the regional final in the past two years to Jacksonville schools Providence and Bolles, P.K. Yonge advanced to its first-ever final four.

“Last year we realized that ‘we can do it,’ we know we’re capable of it,” said senior forward Elliot Pancoast, who recently signed with Clark University, an NCAA Division-III university in Worcester, Massachusetts. “We knew we could get to the regional finals, we’ve done it so many times before, but kind of breaking through that final game and being able to prove to ourselves that we can hang in there with the best of the best in our class is just something that was really meaningful and special for our team to be able to do…we’re ready to try it again for this year.”

They finished the season with a 16-4-1 record after falling to nationally ranked Montverde Academy, 3-0, in the FHSAA Class 3A state semifinals.

“It was so sweet, it was awesome to be able to go there,” said senior Mae Dodd. “We were a huge underdog, playing Montverde. They’ve got a lot of money, it’s like an IMG type of school…It felt really good to hold them off. We held them off until almost the 70th minute…we were able to go up against a big team. We’re a small school, they have huge facilities, we have a shed, I mean it’s fun to go up against them and show them what we’ve got.”

Most of last year’s team is back, so this year they’ve been “the hunted” instead of “the hunter.”

“I’ve noticed that teams seem more prepared for us,” said Rebecca Schackow, who is in her eighth season as the head coach of the Lady Blue Wave. “They’ve scouted and asked questions, and they do formations a little differently. They play a little more defensive-minded and some of them even pack the back and make it very hard on us to score. Very challenging, but that’s great. That’s a good challenge for us. We need to be able to play any type of team and any type of formation.”

By design, P.K. Yonge has played its most difficult schedule to date with games at Class 5A Fleming Island (Orange Park), vs. 6A No. 1 Bartram Trail (St. Johns), at 1A No. 1 St. Johns Country Day (Orange Park), and at four-time defending state champion Lakeland Christian, who they tied 0-0 on Jan. 4.

“Even though it was a tie it was a huge win for us because they’ve been a state championship team for many years,” said senior Faith Hardy. “At their place, on their turf.”

It was the ninth shutout of the season for the Lady Blue Wave (10-2-1), who are ranked 24th overall in the state and No. 2 in Class 2A in the latest FHSAA rankings.

“With the tougher competition comes a change in mindset,” said junior goalkeeper Norah Pancoast, the younger sister of Elliot. “I’ve had to really focus on the way that I play and making sure that everything that I do is intentional and it’s methodical. I need to hone my skills even more when I’m playing against teams like this…I cannot do anything I do without my back line. I rely on them, and they rely on me. We couldn’t do it without each other.”

This past November, Hardy and Dodd signed with Palm Beach Atlantic University and the University of South Carolina Aiken, respectively.

Last year as a junior, Hardy finished second in the voting for the Florida Dairy Farmers Class 3A Player of the Year behind senior Estefania Gonzalez (Montverde Academy) after scoring 39 goals.

This year Hardy, who gets “double and triple marked every game,” according to Schackow, only has 13 goals through 13 games, but that can be attributed to the difficult schedule and other factors.

“It’s definitely the tough schedule and we just have a different team than we have had in past years,” Hardy said. “Everybody can score. They’ve been able to score in past years, but I feel like this year we’re just kind of playing a different style and more people are able to get on the ball and get goals, so there’s a lot more variety of people who have goals rather than just a couple of people.”

Players like senior Sydnie Colaw and junior Paulina Cervantes have helped take the offensive pressure off Hardy and Dodd by combining for 12 of the team’s 42 goals.

Colaw, who had a hat trick in a 6-0 win at Williston on Dec. 20, including a penalty kick goal for a handball in the box during the second half, is second on the team with seven goals, followed by Cervantes with five.

“Sydnie is one of our captains, kind of hub of our team,” Schackow said. “She is such a smart player. She plays the defensive center/mid position and really anchors our whole team right there, gives us so much feedback and direction. She really organizes the entire team.”

Dodd had 10 goals and 10 assists last year and, although she currently only has two goals, she has a team-leading eight assists.

“She’s our other captain, just her tenacity, she is just so all-in every game and a delight to have on the team,” Schackow said. “She keeps everybody going 100%.”

After winning the 3A-District 4 title last year, the Lady Blue Wave dropped down to Class 2A and will compete in the upcoming 2A-District 3 tournament with Newberry, Trenton, host Williston, and Trinity Catholic (Ocala), following the regular season, which ends next week.

Senior Night is at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 16, vs. Santa Fe (Alachua).

P.K. Yonge, which is seeking its sixth straight district title, will also look to defend its regional title in February.

“We want to get back to that point, so we’ve been working just as hard, or even harder, because after last year, obviously playing Montverde, we want to get back to that point and playing them was a writing on the wall,” said senior Emma Mansfield, who signed to play college softball with Jacksonville University. “This is where we have to get if we want to win a state championship.”