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TEAM OF THE WEEK: FLORIDA PREMIER FC

MATCHWEEK SIX

Published Jun 17, 2025

“One Club. One family.”

With three Matchweek Six matches—two of which were against nationally ranked teams—Florida Premier FC’s rallying cry could not have ringed truer as the Tampa-based club earned Global Scarves Team of the Week honors.

Florida Premier FC opened Matchweek Six against the West Florida Flames, the top team in the Sunshine Conference and the No. 20 team in the nation.

For 86 minutes, Florida Premier held off the high-scoring West Florida Flames. The 1-0 loss was heartbreaking and became the turning point of the season for Florida Premier. Three days later, Florida Premier picked up the biggest win of the season, knocking off the No. 7 team in the nation (and No. 1 in the South Region), Jacksonville Armada FC, at home 2-1, followed by a 2-0 road win at FC PrimeTime two days later to close out the week.

“One of the highlights this week was the incredible support from our ECNL staff, who provided goalkeepers for two of our three matches as they prepared for the ECNL playoffs,” Florida Premier coach, Kameron Edwards, said. “Their willingness to step up and contribute to the WPSL team speaks volumes about the unity and commitment to our club.”

Global Scarves Team of the Week, Florida Premier FC. Photo by Rebecca Magner @magnerphotos

With the two wins, Florida Premier now sits a point behind first place West Florida Flames, and two points ahead of Jacksonville Armada FC. All three clubs have two games remaining.

Thursday’s huge win over Jacksonville was all that more spectacular considering the side only had one training session to reset things tactically and emotionally after the tough loss to West Florida on Monday.

“With only one training session between games, we prioritized recovery to help players stay fresh and reduce injury risk,” Edwards said.

The first half against Jacksonville played out very much like the game three days earlier. After a scoreless first half Isabella Carapazza (Lipscomb University 2023- ) finally put the hosts up 1-0 over the No. 7 team in the country in the 53rd minute, followed by a second goal by Ava Tutas (University of South Carolina 2025- ) in the 76th. Jacksonville pulled a goal back in the 87th minute to make it 2-1 but it wasn’t enough: Florida Premier weathered the Armada’s barrage in the final minutes of the match to pick up its biggest win of the season thus far.

Florida Premier FC's Elyse Thorton. Photo by Rebecca Magner @magnerphotos

“What truly sets this team apart is the culture we’ve built,” Edwards said. “Everyone embraces their role, whether it is starting, coming off the bench, or supporting from the sidelines. That collective mindset and selflessness has been crucial to our success so far this season.”

Florida Premier closed out the week with a 2-0 road win over FC PrimeTime. After a scoreless first half, Maliya Maldonnado (University of South Florida 2025- ) put Florida Premier on the board in the 57th minute, followed by Tutas in the 83rd. East Carolina University commit, Sydney Steinberg, earned the clean sheet in goal.

Adia Symmonds (Mississippi State University 2025- ) leads all Florida Premier scorers with five goals on the season, followed by Tutas with four on the season.

Ava Tutas (with ball) scored twice in Matchweek Six. Photo by Rebecca Magner @magnerphotos

“Ava Tutas stood out this week with goals in both matches that we won, continuing to be a consistent offensive threat and a key contributor on the field,” Edwards said. “Equally impressive has been our defensive effort; conceding only two goals and earning a clean sheet against some of the powerhouse teams in our conference demonstrates the level of discipline and commitment on both sides of the ball shows the complete team effort behind our strong performances.”

Florida Premier FC can move into first place in the Sunshine Conference when it returns to action at home on Sunday versus Florida Gulf Coast Dutch Lions FC and closes out the regular season June 27 on the road at West Florida Flames in a match that could very well determine the Sunshine Conference champion.