Jan 10, 2001 - 05:18 PM

Bulls upend No. 1 team
ERIK ERLENDSSON
of The Tampa Tribune

VALRICO - Bloomingdale girls soccer coach Sue Peet hardly reveals her emotions following matches, win or lose. But upon receiving a congratulatory hug from volleyball coach Bonnie Hess, Peet let a smile slip.

It was a little difficult for Peet to hold it in after the Bulls knocked off Palm Harbor University, the top ranked team in the nation according to Tuesday's Fox Student Sports Fab 50 poll, 2-1, at Charley Harris Field on Tuesday.

Bloomingdale joined the Brandon boys, who knocked off top-ranked Flagler Palm Coast in the Puma tournament last month, as the two Hillsborough County teams to pick up victories against No. 1 teams.

Even when asked about how the victory felt, Peet took the praise away from herself.

``I feel good for the kids because they work so hard for this. I like to see them get their reward,'' Peet said.

That reward will likely be a move into the national top 25 for the Bulls, now 11-1-4. The victory also keeps Bloomingdale undefeated in district play at 3-0-3, with another game scheduled at Palm Harbor on Jan. 18. The loss was the second in a row for the Hurricanes (14-2-1) after falling to Seminole 4-0 last week.

``I don't want to take anything away from all the polls, but [the ranking] is just a number,'' Palm Harbor coach Holly Freeman said. ``I told the girls that you have to prove yourself on the field.''

After surviving the opening 10 minutes, in which the Hurricanes applied constant pressure on the Bloomingdale defense, the Bulls started playing a more even game. The advantage swayed in Bloomingdale's favor when Tara Escribano found herself unmarked in the box and turned around for the opening goal in the 39th minute.

Ashley Quaid gave the Bulls a 2-0 advantage when she completed a nice play in the 59th minute. Freshman defender Lauryn Oser distributed a nice ball down right wing to Kim Martins, who sent a beautiful cross across the box and Quaid headed the ball in. Palm Harbor pulled within a goal in the 65th minute when Sara McGonegal snuck in behind the defense and right-footed a shot into the upper corner, but the Bulls packed the defense in and used its strong clearing plays to withstand the Hurricanes last charge.