LIVE OAK — Alaira Handy doesn’t need much time on the scene to make a statement.
After subbing in at halftime of her and the rest of Suwannee’s seniors’ last game against Columbia on Jan. 9, Handy immediately pressed the attack, firing a shot that was just pushed wide by CHS goalie Sadie Sparks seconds into the period. Twelve minutes later, Handy took possession on the Tigers’ side of the pitch before taking another crack at goal. While Sparks batted that attempt downward, it bounced right into the path of Hemy Olivares-Alonso, who banged home the opening goal.
The play eventually led to a 2-1 Suwannee win, its first over Columbia in over a decade. It was also an example of Handy’s resilience on her way to earning LCR’s Girls Soccer Player of the Year honors.
“It definitely feels like a huge accomplishment,” Handy said. “Everything that I’ve worked for basically since sixth grade, it paid off. I can’t be anything else but happy.”
Handy’s year saw plenty more scores to make up for Sparks’ saves on her shots in January. The senior forward finished her campaign with an area-best 27 goals in 19 games, good for 1.4 per match. She also chipped in four assists on the season, with one of those coming against Columbia.
Handy’s efforts in that game were rewarded with a memory she still keeps dear. Part of a nine-player senior class, Handy made the most of her own Senior Night against Lafayette on Dec. 19, putting away four goals while also dishing on a pair of assists in a 6-0 shutout over the Hornets.
But still, Handy keeps coming back to that literal once-in-a-lifetime win over her school’s rival.
“That was pretty satisfying,” Handy said in reflection of that particular game. “We haven’t beaten them for as long as I can remember, probably about middle school. It’s definitely satisfying.
“I felt kind of refreshed because there’s always been this rivalry between us and CHS. So it kind of felt like they finally got kicked in the teeth.”
Moments like those may not have happened without a full-circle moment to bring Handy back into the fold. The hire of Brooklyn Smith as the new Bulldogs head coach brought Handy back the coach she had in eighth grade, and with her, a sense of familiarity.
“It was kind of like a full-circle moment, coming from basically being a senior of the middle school, and then a senior in high school,” Handy said. “It’s a different perspective, obviously, more mature and whatnot. We were able to meet each other at a different level when it got to that point of her coming this year.”
Smith said having had experience coaching Handy, she knew what to expect both from the person and player. What Smith couldn’t have expected was the progress Handy had made over those four years in between.
“I would say that she’s definitely faster,” Smith said. “…She’s more of a team player as a senior than she was as an eighth grader, which is what you hope for in an athlete.”
Handy served as a captain on both of Smith’s squads. Smith said Handy’s second go at it was satisfying to witness.
“She is all about her teammates when she’s not playing,” Smith said. “You can hear her over everyone on the sideline cheering her teammates on. That’s my favorite thing, my favorite memory of Alaira.”
While the full-circle moment may not have explicitly led to her dominance on the pitch, Handy welcomed it all the same. She was coming off a tumultuous junior campaign marked by a clear difference in opinion with her former coaching staff.
But her output that year didn’t matter without the right support system.
“I would say that me and my coach kind of butted heads,” Handy said. “We didn’t have the best relationship…But I still made the most of it when I could, still made an impact when I was able to play.”
Handy credits linking up with Smith again as the catalyst to spark her run.
“It was definitely a lot more refreshing, it was,” she said. “It was just a completely different perspective than it had been my last two years with the coach that I had. Whenever she did come here, it was like we were able to be more honest and open, and I was able to be pushed to my physical limits without it being too overbearing.”
Handy said that’s the biggest takeaway she hopes others have in looking back on her season and career at Suwannee. She’s currently considering multiple collegiate offers.
Wherever she lands, Handy said she simply wishes to remain true to herself.
“In the face of adversity and anything going on, don’t let anybody dictate what you do, how you play, anything like that,” she said. “…I know it’s a lot to bear with school your senior year as well as playing for a team where you’re needed to execute.
“All the players that are on my team currently, they definitely were a family, and I really wouldn’t have had it any other way.”
ALL-AREA TEAM
F: Alaira Handy
Suwannee, senior
The LCR’s Player of the Year led the area with 27 goals and also had four assists for the Bulldogs.
F: Delilah Poore
Branford, junior
Led the District 2-2A champion Buccaneers with 18 goals and had two assists.
F: Kayleigh Wardle
Branford, senior
Led the area with nine assists and also scored eight goals.
F: Laelle Thompson
Columbia, senior
Led the Tigers with 15 goals and also had three assists.
MF: Anndersn Fuller
Fort White, senior
Led the Indians with 20 goals and eight assists.
MF: Ella McAdams
Lafayette, senior
Led the Hornets with 14 goals and had two assists.
MF: Leah Shields
Columbia, freshman
Led the Tigers with eight assists and also scored 10 goals.
DEF: Kiara Thompson
Columbia, junior
Helped anchor a Tigers defense that allowed just 43 goals.
DEF: Mariah Ross
Columbia, senior
Helped anchor a Tigers defense that allowed just 43 goals.
DEF: Hemy Olivares-Alonso
Suwannee, senior
Anchored a Bulldogs defense that allowed fewer than three goals per match against the area’s toughest schedule.
GK: Sadie Sparks
Columbia, senior
Led the area with 227 saves and allowed an area-low 43 goals in 19 matches while finishing with four shutouts.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Cara Soride, Branford
Led the Buccaneers to their first district title in program history with a 3-1 victory over Dixie County in the District 2-2A championship. Branford finished the season strong with a six-game unbeaten streak before falling to state semifinalist Providence in the Region 1-2A quarterfinals.