Playoff
spots up for grabs as season draws to close
Originally
Published:
For the Western Conference
tournament, which only includes Hillsborough County public schools, all but one
of the spots have been determined.
Conference division
championship spots are based on the first 11 games of the regular season
schedule, so tournament games do not count toward the conference record. Wins
count as three points and ties count as one point.
Two of the girls division
champions are Plant (10-1 in conference) and King (6-1-1). The third winner
will be either East Bay (8-0-1) or Bloomingdale (6-0-3). East Bay has Tampa
Catholic and Robinson remaining while the Bulls have a rematch with Palm Harbor
University on Thursday and a game with Hillsborough.
Two of the boys division
champions are Gaither (9-0-1) and Plant (9-1-1). The final winner is either
Bloomingdale (7-2) or Brandon (7-1-2). Bloomingdale will face Palm Harbor
University on Thursday followed by Hillsborough to round out its final two
conference games, while Brandon still has Charlotte to play.
Jesuit keeps plugging: It's been rough for the Tigers the
last two weeks as injuries have mounted, but the wins are still coming.
In the past week, the
Tigers, ranked No. 3 in the country by Student Sports Fox Fab 50, beat Leto
4-2, Tampa Bay Tech 9-0 and Oviedo 2-0.
During that time, Jesuit has
lost a handful of starters, including three in the game against Tech. Then
Saturday, while playing on poor field conditions at Oviedo, the Tigers lost
another starter in the opening 10 minutes of the game. A couple of players also
were banged up.
But Coach Bob Bauman just
keeps finding the right combinations. Since a loss to Gaither in the Puma Tournament
finals, Jesuit has won five consecutive matches and has clinched the top seed
for the district tournament, set for the final week in January.
A good week: Academy of the Holy Names polished
off a successful week with a 4-1 win against Tampa Prep.
Academy claimed three
consecutive district wins, improving its record to 7-6-3 and 4-1-2 in the
district. The team was led by Kathryn Steffans during the span. The senior had
four goals and two assists during the week. Freshman Rachel Gillman added two goals
and an assist, while junior goal keeper Mary Walsh recorded two shutouts.
Academy outscored its
opponents 10-1 during the three-game stretch and has moved into second place in
the district standings.