©St. Petersburg Times, published March 19, 1998
(This is the unedited version)
TALLAHASSEE -- When East
Lake takes the field against Fort Lauderdale Western in Friday's
Class 6A state semifinal, fans will see two unheralded teams
trying to forge their way into history. East Lake, in its ninth
year, and Western, in its 16th, are both making their first state
tournament appearance.
At the beginning of the season, East Lake (20-1-1) was just
trying to win its district for the first time, let alone gain a
state tournament berth.
""We thought if we worked as a team and played
together, we could get out of districts,'' senior sweeper Josh
Laws said. ""We thought if we could just get out, we
could take it one step at a time from there.''
During the season, the Eagles quietly put together an impressive
string of victories against their District 5 competition from
Hillsborough County, culminating in their first district title in
a 3-1 win over Gaither on March 3. Gaither, incidentally, went on
to lose in a shootout to state semifinalist Bloomingdale in the
regional quarterfinals.
East Lake has not lost to any team outside Pinellas County this
year. An early stumble against Class 5A regional semifinalist
Countryside and a tie against 5A finalist Largo are the only two
blemishes on its record.
Second-year coach Steve Wagner said that one of the keys to his
team's success comes from its ability to make adjustments after
halftime.
""Our second half has been very good all year,'' Wagner
said. ""The only time we lost was against Countryside
when my guys didn't do what I told them to do. Other than that,
they've done everything I've asked them to and then some.''
Just what does Wagner ask of his team?
"I want them to pressure the ball hard. Never allow the
other guy to pass or turn. Like we saw against (Lake Mary), it
really frustrates them and leads to scoring opportunities for
us.''
Lake Mary was averaging seven goals per game in the playoffs
before it was compressed into its own end of the field by the
Eagles' constant, nagging defense in the regional final. East
Lake won 4-1, with Lake Mary's only goal coming on a penalty
kick.
""Coach Wagner is good at pointing out our weaknesses
and helping to motivate us,'' Laws said. ""He
constantly tells us to spread out and use the whole field. He's
not a negative coach. He doesn't get down on us. He tries to give
us a good attitude to step it up when we need to.''
Last year, the team was focused on getting the ball up to star
forwards Dino Ribeiro and Dan Mosny. This year, with that pair
graduated, the team has no superstars but features skilled
players at every position.
""I think everybody feels that they're an integral part
of the team, not just a support player,'' Wagner said.
""Even the outside backs are part of the attack.
There's no 'push it up, then watch.'''
East Lake has become adept at attacking as a team, using its
speedy wing defenders and midfielders to come forward in
overlapping runs. Wagner said the unsung heroes of this approach
are his outside midfielders, Tony Rosso and Alex Myers:
""I ask them to bust their butts and do everything—run
up and attack, then get back and defend. They've done a great job
out there.''
Moving James Karr to stopper has also helped the team begin its
attack from the back forward. ""It gives us a lot of
options. James is an offensive threat as well as a defender,''
Laws said.
Up front, no one has stepped up more than Neil Hildenbrand. The
junior striker was unstoppable in the regional playoffs, scoring
a pair of goals in each of East Lake's victories. And in the net,
goalie Adam Hilderbrandt has also been solid, allowing just 15
goals in 22 games.
Neither East Lake nor Western (16-5-1) has been ranked in the
state poll this year, nor have they played in any of the state's
premier tournaments. Therefore, scouting reports have been hard
to come by.
""All I know about (Western) is that they're a huge
school with more than 2400 students, and they play in a good area
for soccer (Fort Lauderdale),'' Wagner said. ""So, they
have a lot of talent to draw from. But so do we.''
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