Tampa Bay Heather U-19 Girls
By JEREMY RASMUSSEN
St. Petersburg Times
Correspondent
Break up the Heather! That must be what other teams are thinking after the Tampa Bay Heather under-19 girls soccer club won its fourth consecutive Florida Youth Soccer Association state cup on June 7 with a 2-1 victory over crosstown rival Blackwatch Stirling.
Having this much talent on one team should be illegal. But, according to coach Bob Schofield, the Heather is broken up each year, and it's a constant challenge to put it back together with fresh talent.
""We're basically rebuilding this team every year,'' Schofield said. ""We're continuously training and trying out, training and trying out.''
The club had tryouts on Monday (June 15), even as it was preparing for the United States Youth Soccer Association Region III playoffs in Columbus, Georgia. Representing the state of Florida, the Heather face South Carolina on Thursday, June 25 and Tennessee on Saturday, June 27.
If it wins in Columbus, the Heather goes to the USYSA national finals in Phoenix in July. The Heather won the national title in 1995.
Talk about loaded--according to Heather coaching director and University of Tampa women's coach George Fotopoulos, every Heather player that graduated from high school this year received a scholarship to play NCAA Division I soccer this fall.
These seniors include Lindaliz Arauz, Berkeley Prep (Vanderbilt University); Kelly Blaggie, Countryside (North Carolina State University); Jana Escribano, Bloomingdale (University of Miami); Karyn Hall, Oveido (University of Florida); Lauren Mayros, River Ridge (Emory University); Tara Minnax, Chamberlain (University of Tennessee); and Whitney Singer, East Lake (Florida).
Add to that squad five players already playing college ball: Kalli Kamholz, Satellite Beach (Vanderbilt); Kristie Brady, Plant City (Florida); Andi Sellers, Satellite Beach (Florida); Renee Reynolds, Cooper City (Florida); and Shane Gallo, Fort Lauderdale St. Andrews (N.C. State).
And throw into the mix five rising seniors who are already established high school stars: Ginger Lynn, Tampa Catholic; Danielle Rust, Naples; Cindy Schofield, Lakeland George Jenkins; Katie Calvin, Clearwater Central Catholic; and Martel Warhola, Tampa Catholic.
The only question mark right now for the Heather is at goalkeeper. Starting goalie Mandy Blevins broke her finger before the state cup, and she was a replacement for Leto's Radylan Pearson, who went out earlier with a knee injury. Karyn Hall, who usually plays fullback, filled in admirably during the state cup with a pair of shutout wins.
""I told the girls we're going to be the first team in history to win a national championship with no goalie,'' Fotopoulos said. ""If we lose, (having no goalie) will not be an excuse. We couldn't give up after losing our keepers. We had to keep playing. Now, we just have to make sure we outscore everyone else.''
Attacking is definitely one of the team's strengths. The Heather have long had a tradition of great scorers.
Robin Confer, a former Heather player now with national champion University of North Carolina, set the state high school scoring record in 1995 at CCC. Current Heather player Andi Sellers broke that record last year at Satellite Beach. Now, with 190 goals heading into her senior season at George Jenkins, Cindy Schofield will almost certainly shatter it.
""It's taken five years for us to build up this club to the point it is now,'' Fotopoulos said. ""In the beginning, we just had to get people to believe in the idea of the Heather. Now, we have so much talent, we could feasible win the national title with just field players and no goalie. We've come a long way.''
©1998 St. Petersburg Times.