Feb 12,
2001 - 05:16 PM
Teams still in race for state soccer
titles
BRANDON - Prep soccer is
still very much alive in Eastern Hillsborough County and the dreams of a state
title is very much alive for three Brandon-area teams.
East Bay's girls and
Bloomingdale's boys and girls teams all survived last week's opening round of
the state playoffs, with the dream of a state championship still very much
alive.
Of the three, only East Bay
will remain home for Tuesday's region semifinals as the Indians will host
Tarpon Springs at E.G. Simmons Field in the Class 2A-Region 3 semifinals. The
winner advances to face either Lakewood or Tampa Catholic for the right to
advance to the state semifinals in Tallahassee Feb. 22-24 at the FSU Women's
Soccer Complex.
Bloomingdale's boys will
travel to the East Coast of Florida to tangle with Stuart Martin County in the
Class 4A-Region 2 semifinals. The Bulls, runner up in District 7, are looking
to return to the state final four for the fourth time since 1993, and fifth
time overall. Coach Dave Tennian has led the Bulls to the state semifinals in
two of the past three seasons and were a rare absence for the state playoff
scene after a district semifinal loss to eventual state champion Gaither last season.
The Bloomingdale girls'
team, ranked No. 14 in the nation according to Fox Student Sports, must make an
even further trek than their male counterparts departing for West Palm Beach to
face Wellington in the Class 4A-Region 2 semifinals. The Bulls, who held on to
beat Sarasota Riverview 2-0 on Tuesday, were a state semifinalist last year and
are looking for third ever trip to the final four.
East Bay: The Indians, who
beat Bartow 4-1 on Tuesday, look like a strong candidate to advance out of the
region to reach the state Capital as a semifinalist.
The Indians have speed,
skill and are tough enough to take any physical play opposing teams may bring.
Led by center midfielder Shawna Kramer, the only senior on the roster, and
sophomore Alyse Migliaro East Bay has a potent offense. Goalkeeper Katie
Relihan and sweeper Lacy Miranda anchor a solid defense while a bunch of solid
role players round out a well balanced team.
Coach Claudine Sosa has her
team playing their best soccer at the right part of the season and feels like
the team is peaking.
``We are finally finishing
off some of our chances that we weren't doing early in the season,'' she said.
In the Indians last three
games - all playoff games including the district tournament - they have scored
no fewer than four goals and averaged 5.7 goals in wins against Blake, Tampa
Catholic and Bartow.
Tuesday's victory was the
first postseason victory in school history for the girls team since women's
soccer was introduced in 1981.
``To me, this is just a next
step,` Sosa said. `Yes, this is a good, positive step. But it's not the end of
the line.''
Sosa hopes the end of the
line isn't Tuesday, either.
Bloomingdale girls: The
Bulls are perhaps in one of the toughest regions in the state, boys or girls.
With two-time defending
state champion Palm Harbor University, which lost to Fort Myers, out of the
way, one would be inclined to think the road became easier. But Coach Sue Peet
knows better and said so after Tuesday's 2-0 shutout of Sarasota Riverview.
``This is just one step on
the ladder and that ladder gets tougher to climb,'' she said.
Fort Myers reached the
state finals last year, ending Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas' streak of
seven consecutive state championships along the way. The Green Wave will tangle
with a tough Winter Park team on Tuesday.
Bloomingdale, meanwhile,
has to take a bus ride across the state to face upstart Wellington (24-2-1) for
a chance to move one step closer to a return trip to Tallahassee.
But to do so, the Bulls
will have to slow down the high-pressured attack of the Wolverines. Wellington
does a solid job of pressuring the ball on defense on pushing the attack on
offense.
Bloomingdale will have to
use its ball possession controlled attack to slow down the game to their pace.
If Bloomingdale wins, the Bulls still will have the opportunity to host the
region final, but only if Fort Myers knocks off Winter Park.
Bloomingdale boys: This has
not been an easy season for one of the more tradition-rich programs in the
state.
First, the Bulls advanced
to the finals of the Puma tournament in December, only to suffer the worst
defeat in coach Dave Tennian's 11-year tenure at the school in a 6-1 loss to
Mater Dei of California.
Then Tennian was arrested
on DUI charges on Jan. 20.
But Bloomingdale has
continued to charge, coming up with a key victory against Palm Harbor
University in the district semifinals and then knocking off a tough Bradenton
Manatee team 2-1 in Thursday's region quarterfinal.
Now the Bulls must travel
across state to face Stuart Martin County for the chance to advance to the
region final on Friday, where a possible fourth showdown with defending state
champion Gaither looms. Gaither has won all three matchups this season. Led by
a physical style of play, reminiscent of earlier Bloomingdale teams from the
mid-1990s, and forwards Brandon Hancock and Josh Garbee, the Bulls can hang
with just about anybody. And with freshman sensation goalkeeper Chris Sedlak in
net, Bloomingdale has its sights set on a spot at the semifinals at Tampa's
Pepin/Rood Stadium.