Jan 9, 2001 - 04:39 PM
No. 1 Palm Harbor, Bloomingdale
clash
For a number of years,
Bloomingdale's girls soccer program sat in the front row of the class in area
soccer. With a string of 10 consecutive state playoff appearances from 1989 to
1998 and two trips to the state semifinals in the past nine years, the Bulls
have been one of the most consistent programs.
After last season's 25-1-1
run,
which ended with a Class 4A
semifinal loss to Lake Howell, Bloomingdale reestablished itself as a presence
on the state scene after missing out on the playoffs in 1999.
Tonight, however, the
Bulls' face the rising pupil among the class of girls soccer in the area as
Bloomingdale, fresh off Friday's King Tournament championship, hosts Palm
Harbor University in a Class 4A-District 8 showdown at Charley Harris Field at
6.
Palm Harbor, a four-year
old school, already has two state championship trophies on display on campus
and three state semifinal appearances. Not even a rise in classification has been
enough to slow down the Hurricanes. Not only has Palm Harbor University risen
quickly in the ranks around the state, the Hurricanes also have garnered
attention on the national scene.
Off to a 16-0-1 start, Palm
Harbor finds itself the top-ranked team in the nation, according to the Dec. 31
Fox Student Sports Fab 50 poll. The poll includes only teams that participate
in winter soccer - Florida, Hawaii, Texas, California, Arizona, Louisiana,
Mississippi and part of Nevada.
This is the first of two
meetings this season between the two teams. They will clash Jan. 18 at Palm
Harbor for a game that could decided the regular season district champion. Palm
Harbor enters with a 5-0 district record and the Bulls (10-1-3, 2-0-3 in the
district) need a win to stay close in the standings.
A possible meeting between
the two teams was avoided last month at the Soccer Line Tournament in Sarasota
the weekend before Christmas.
Bloomingdale was upended by
Gainesville Buchholz in the second round which prevented a semifinal matchup
between the Bulls and Palm Harbor, which went on to capture the championship.
Bauman featured: A
television crew from Sunshine Network was on hand at the Soccer Field Classic
at Gaither to do a feature on Jesuit coach Bob Bauman. The crew filmed the
Tigers' game against Gaither and conducted a sit-down interview with the
13-year Jesuit coach who has led the Tigers to four state championships in the
past six years and has guided Jesuit to six consecutive appearances in the
state title game.
The feature is scheduled to
appear on Sunshine Network on Thursday at 5:30 p.m as part of the FHSAA High
School Xtra show, a weekly program highlighting prep sports around the state.
All-region selections:
Several area players received recognition to the National Soccer Coaches
Association of America All-South team, which was released late last week.
The players honored are:
Gaither MF Bryce Wegerle, the state player of the year; Jesuit MF Eric
Grzybowski and GK Justin Trowbridge; Jenkins D Ryan Manning and Berkeley Prep
GK Dean Aranoutakis.
Unfortunately for
Aranoutakis, he will not be able to live up to the recognition. The four-year
varsity starter has been out since early in the season and is expected to miss
the remainder of Berkeley Prep's schedule this season because of a back injury
that will sideline him from any action for at least three months.
The girls' NSCAA All-South team is expected to be released later this week or early next week.