Feb 14,
2001 - 12:45 AM
Gators shut out Seminole
SEMINOLE - Land O' Lakes' big goal scorers Casie Poyssick
and Stacy Bishop weren't a factor, so soft-spoken sophomore Sophie Spratley
provided the heroics. Her goal on an assist from Kelly Jackson in the 41st
minute was the difference as the Gators edged Seminole 1-0 for a spot in their
first regional final in coach Vicky King's 14 seasons.
Land O' Lakes (24-5-1) had
lost four previous times in the regional semifinal.
``Everybody kept saying
Seminole is so good,'' said King, whose team will host Sarasota on Friday.
``(Our players) they're proving to themselves that they're as good as the
others.
Sprately's game-winner,
which slipped between two defenders, was one of only a few shots on goal for
the Gators, who were outshot 10-4 by the Warhawks (20-5). But Land O' Lakes
freshman goalkeeper Shannon Aitken neutralized that differential with several
key saves in the second half.
``We definitely had some
good chances,'' Seminole coach Steve Kuplicki said. ``It's unfortunate we
didn't score.''
Class 2A-Region 3: at
Gibsonton, East Bay sophomore Alyse Migliaro provided a spark, assisting on all
three goals, helping the Indians advance to next week's Region championship.
East Bay got off to a quick
start with an Ana Hernandez goal in the fifth minute, from a Migliaro corner
kick. Later in the first half, sophomore goalkeeper Katie Relihan made a
one-handed grab to prevent a score, which might have been the difference in the
game.
The Indians scored a quick
goal at the start of the second half in the 45th minute when junior Kari Carlen
scored off a Migliaro throw-in, giving East Bay a 3-0 lead. From that point on,
the team that had dominated for the first half, began to get complacent.
Tarpon Springs scored the
next two goals to cut the lead to one goal, with scores by junior Lisa Johnson
and freshman Libby Gianeskis. East Bay regrouped and was able to hold on to the
lead.
``We came out flat in the
second half,'' East Bay coach Claudine Sosa said. ``They forgot they had to
play another 40 minutes Tarpon Springs is a well- conditioned team. Luckily,
the girls have heart and never gave up.''
Class 4A-Region 2: at
Wellington, Megan Snaider scored in the first 10 minutes of the second half to
lead Bloomingdale to a 1-0 victory.
The junior midfielder
headed in a skip pass from Kim Martins for her eighth goal of the season.
``It was a great team
effort,'' Snaider said. ``I just got in there ahead of the defense in the
center and Kim got me the ball.''
The host Wolverines
(24-3-1) produced 13 shots on goal, including several breakaway opportunities,
but couldn't find the net.
Strong defense by the Bulls
(18-2-4) in the final thirty minutes secured the win.
``We withstood their storms
tonight,'' Bulls coach Sue Peete said.
Freshman Megan Robey had
five saves for Bloomingdale.
Class 3A-Region 3:at
Sarasota, Sailors' girls' soccer coach Vince Coraci said he enjoys watching the
eyes of opposing players grow when they first get a glance at the size of the
Sailors' home field.
King's eyes must have been
enormous Tuesday night.
Teryn Schuetz scored two
goals and Sarah Baesler added a goal and two assists as Sarasota shocked King
with a 8-0 win.
The Sailors (25-2-2) took
advantage of their wide field, scoring two goals in the game's first seven
minutes to put the Lions (17-4-2) away early.
``We knew we were capable
of scoring goals,'' Coraci said. ``We knew we had to come out focused and ready
to play.''
Midfielder Kristen Gambetta
notched the first when the ball skipped through two defenders in the middle of
the King box. Gambetta settled it and slotted it past King goalkeeper Martha
Walker in the second minute.
Senior defender Tiffany
Toale closed out the scoring with a penalty kick goal in the 78th minute. In
all, seven different Sailors' scored goals in the contest. Sarasota outshot the
Lions 22-7.
''We were a little nervous
out there and panicked in the first few minutes,'' King coach John Ackerman
said. ``I'm still satisfied with the season. I wish we had played a better game
today, but it was still a good year.''
Region 2:at Tampa, Maitland
Orangewood Christian eliminated Berkeley Prep in the region semifinals for the
third consecutive year. Tuesday's 2-0 score was a difficult loss to accept for
the Bucs, who outplayed and out-shot the Rams in both halves.
``We had our chances,''
said Berkeley coach Ken Roberts. ``We didn't finish on them.''
Rachel Brown, a sixth
grader, scored the first unsuspecting goal that sputtered into the net and out
of the grasp of Berkeley keeper Colleen Kalafat in the game's 23rd minute. But
it was Aleas Koos' goal in the 49th minute that took the Bucs (21-7-2) out of
the game.
``After they scored that
second one, it took a little bit out of us,'' Roberts said.
Despite out-shooting
Orangewood 10-3 in the second half, Berkeley's attack was stifled by the
tenacious play of Rams defenders Joanna Christopher and Ashley Huffman who kept
stepping into the passing lane and spoiled the return of Alexie Riofrio, who
had been out six weeks with a hamstring injury. Nikki Lanza made the Bucs best
shot on goal, but Christy Longden reached high in the net to nab it.
Class 2A-Region 3:at St.
Petersburg, after a scoreless defensive struggle in the first half, host
Lakewood broke through with three goals to beat Tampa Catholic in a semifinal
match 3-0.
Jenny Borschel got the
Spartans (16-4-1) on the board with a goal in the 52nd minute and was followed
less than 10 minutes later by a header from Suzi Herbert to put Lakewood up
2-0. Erica Williams closed out the scoring for the Spartans when she put one
past Crusaders goalkeeper Ali Doyle in the 74th minute.
Tampa Catholic (12-5-1) had
two great scoring opportunities in the first half, but its attempts hit the
crossbar and post, respectively. Doyle was under constant pressure but came
away with nine saves.