St. Petersburg Times All-County Team 1997-98

LARGO -- The 1997-98 boys soccer season in Pinellas County will go down in history as the year of the shootout. Unfortunately for three of Pinellas' top teams with state championship hopes, it will also be known as the year of the shootout loss.

Pinellas County Athletic Conference champ St. Petersburg lost in a shootout 2-1 to Countryside in a Class 5A regional quarterfinal. Third-ranked Largo lost 1-0 on penalty kicks to eventual state Class 5A champion St. Thomas Aquinas in the regional final (St. Thomas went on to win the state title on PKs too).

Clearwater Central Catholic lost 1-0 in the state final to Melbourne Central Catholic, after the Hustler Bees won in a shootout over Berkeley to get into the championship. Incidentally, the Bloomingdale boys won the Class 6A title in a shootout.

""I've never seen so many shootouts as we had this year. It's a shame to have to decide a game that way, but no one has come up with a better idea,'' FACA state soccer coordinator Tommy Davis said.

While he had bad luck in shootouts, including hitting the post in the regional final loss to St. Thomas, the Times' player of the year nonetheless proved he could get it done on the playing field. Largo's Joe Valencia, who has signed to play with the University of South Florida next season, was equally effective attacking or defending.

According to Jonathon Alva-Cavero, a midfielder and fellow USF signee from St. Thomas Aquinas, Valencia wore him out when the two teams played: ""He played from one end of the field to the other,'' Alva-Cavero said. ""I couldn't keep up.''

Joining Valencia on the first team is East Lake junior Neil Hildenbrand, who impressed college scouts with his ability to move to the goal and pass creatively. Hildenbrand was deadly in the playoffs, notching seven goals in four games. St. Petersburg junior Johnny Oldja also continued to impress as an unstoppable offensive force, reaching the 50-goal mark.

Times' coach of the year, Steve Wagner of East Lake, took a team that had never won a district title to 20-win season and the state tournament. Under of the tutelage of Wagner, who is also the school's resource officer, the Eagles learned how to attack and defend as a team. With Hildenbrand, Tony Rosso, Alex Myers, and some other key contributors back next year, don't count out the Eagles from making another state playoff appearance.

First Team

• Fwd Neil Hildenbrand, East Lake. Excellent attacking player, led Eagles to states with 28 goals
• Fwd Myles McAllister, CCC. Hard working forward, created his own scoring chances
• Fwd Johnny Oldja, St. Pete. County's top scorer with 50 goals
• Fwd Russell Vreeland, Largo. Creative passer and scorer, nice baseline moves
• Mid Geoff Peattie, Countryside. Stands tall in middle, good attacking or defending
• Mid Joe Valencia, Largo. Heart and soul of the team, can score (23 goals) and defend
• Mid Mike Servis, Osceola. Scored in five consecutive playoff games for Warriors
• Def Mike Petagna, St. Pete. Quick, smart sweeper anchored Devils defense
• Def Darren Jackson, Countryside. Speedy back; proved he could mark the county's best
• Def Steve Borkowski, Largo. One of trio of heady Largo fullbacks; can score too
• Goal Adam Hilderbrandt, East Lake. Took charge in the back, athletic keeper

Second Team

• Fwd Vaso Arsenis, St. Pete. Other half of Devils' scoring duo; had tons of assists
• Fwd Craig McGarricle, PHU. One of county's top scorers led Hurricanes' attack
• Fwd Mike Nagel, Seminole. Skills, footwork, good shot, and good air game
• Mid Harris Ambush, St. Pete. Senior stopper and playmaker came up occasionally to score
• Mid Brenton Meese, Lakewood. Provided senior leadership to young Spartans squad
• Mid Tony Mione, Osceola. Took tough marking assignments or went forward on offense
• Mid Chris Reardon, CCC. Skillful midfielder with deadly shot; played several roles
• Def Bryan Black, Largo. Tough sweeper for Largo, free kick specialist
• Def Josh Laws, East Lake. Heady sweeper for Eagles; began the attack from the back
• Def Chris Mitchell, Largo. Big, uncompromising back; neutralized everything in his zone
• Goal Dave Page, Tarpon Spgs. One of few bright spots for Spongers, kept games close

Honorable Mention

CCC – Kyle Dulin, Fernando Bleichner. Osceola – Chris Huber. Countryside – Isaac Mullis, Ben Abele, Agim Kaba. East Lake – Jeremy Cashman, Chris Zayas, John Murillo. Largo – Dan Quintela. Seminole – Steve Harper, Ben Sousa, Mike Bond. Lakewood – Chris Johnson, Jabe Breeland. Shorecrest – Tanner Rose, Tony Lazzara. St. Pete Catholic – Marco Villari, Anthony Villari. Dixie Hollins – Billy Sparling. St. Petersburg – Juan Murillo, Billy Baynard. Northeast – Sean Miller. Tarpon Springs – Mike Carrion.

©1998 St. Petersburg Times.

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