LAKELAND — Mary Peace never really thought about playing college soccer when she and Lakeland Christian teammate Taylor O’Byrne first started playing soccer together when they were 8 years old. It wasn’t until Peace reached high school when she started playing club soccer after a break in middle school when the idea of playing began to appeal to her.
Peace’s talent, however, was never in doubt and the University of Florida spotted it early and things happened quickly. Peace was offered during her sophomore, committed to Florida and on Wednesday, she made it official by signing with the Gators. And to make the day even sweeter, O’Byrne also signed to play college soccer. She’s headed to Davidson.
The two signings headline national signing day in Polk County, one that has been somewhat diluted by the new early-signing period for football, but there still was some major Division I signings. Lakeland linebacker Jack Smith signed with Purdue, George Jenkins defensive end signed with Georgia Tech and Frostproof’s Jeremiah Salaam signed with Kent State after turning down Nebraska.
For Peace, she’s following in the family tradition of attending Florida. Her father, LCS assistant football coach Wayne Peace, quarterbacked the Gators in the 1980s, and her grandfather, Lamar Peace, briefly played football at Florida. Her mother, Melanie, also attended Florida.
Mary Peace, who was The Ledger’s girls soccer player of the year in her freshman season, never wavered after committing to Florida and never felt the Gators coaches ever had second thoughts.
“They’re very much the person over the player, and they’re very loyal,” Mary Peace said.
Still, playing for the Gators seemed like a far away dream until recently.
“The part when this became more real to me was their last game, and I’m like, their next regular-season game, I will be on the team,” she said. “That was super weird but so exciting.”
Peace has played varsity soccer since her seventh-grade year, and the Vikings reached the final four every year. She’s hoping for one more run at a state title this year. Splitting time between playing forward and centerback, she is second on the team with 24 goals and 69 points, and is tied for second with 21 assists. For her career, Peace, who had a career-high 36 goals when she picked up the scoring slack for an injured Bri Folds, has 116 goals, 88 assists and 320 points in her career.
“Since she started for me in the seventh grade, I’ve always been in awe of her athletic ability,” LCS coach Jason Streets said.
O’Byrne, who has always been a goalkeeper, committed to Davidson a year ago.
“I really wanted a school that focused on academics,” she said. “I wanted to get a good education and a degree that meant something.”
That she and Peace signing together made the day even more special.
“It’s very exciting to look at the past and see where we were coming from and to see where we are going,” she said. “It’s nice to share the day with her.”
O’Byrne is the second LCS goalkeeper to sign with a Division I school. Her predecessor in goal, Lydia Cagle, signed with South Florida. Streets expects O’Byrne to excel in college.
“She’s got all the tools,” Streets said. “She’s 6-feet-tall, she’s more vocal than Lydia was. She’s such a good goalie. We’ve been so blessed.”
At Lakeland, Smith, a first-team, all-county linebacker, had originally committed to Syracuse, but decommitted after the recruiting coach left. Purdue had also offered and when he made the visit, he knew that’s where he wanted to go.
“When I took the visit, I liked how it was like a college town, plus I like the competition in the Big 10,” he said. “I like a lot of competition. I have to train harder so I can be better.”
Winter Haven’s Willie Lane was also expected to sign with Purdue on Wednesday, but athletic director Randy Pritchard said the signing was moved to today for unknown reasons.
For Salaam, Kent State was a late bidder for him. He had been recruited by Scott Frost when Frost was at UCF. When Frost took the Nebraska job, he continued to recruit Salaam, but the Frostproof defensive back opted for Kent State over Nebraska and Memphis.
“They offered me at the last minute,” he said. “It was something that in my heart said that I need to be there. I just visited last weekend, and it fit me well. I knew it was the place for me as soon as I got there.”
While other athletes scheduled their signings during the day or right after school, Domineck, The Ledger’s All-County big school defensive player of the year, scheduled his ceremony to be held during halftime of the Eagles’ basketball game on Wednesday night.
Domineck, who recorded 103 tackles – 51 solo – and astounding 25 quarterback sacks during his senior season, had originally committed to South Florida, but chose Georgia Tech in the end because of the school’s strong academic foundation.