Hurricane Watch tourney results
©St. Petersburg Times, published December 6, 1997
PALM HARBOR -- East Lake won the inaugural Hurricane Watch boys soccer tournament with an overpowering 5-2 victory over St. Petersburg on Friday. The Eagles' offense came in wave after wave as the team showed off its depth and attacking power.
The win gave East Lake a 3-0 record in the round robin tourney, good for first place. St. Petersburg finished second at 2-1. The Eagles put pressure on the St. Petersburg goal with long crosses by Cris Zayas and Brian Bashara. Devils keeper Juan Murillo was tested early on point-blank shots by Neil Hildenbrand and Jeremy Cashman.
However, it was St. Petersburg that scored first on a penalty kick by John Oldja after Derek Sumner was taken down in the box.
East Lake roared back as Cashman took a long ball from Bashara and blasted it in to tie the game with five minutes left in the first half. With less than a minute to go in the first, Bashara broke away up the left wing and hit a narrow-angle shot that caromed off the far post and went in.
East Lake built its lead to 3-1 in the second half on another long cross from Bashara to Hildenbrand, who headed it over Murillo for the score.
The Devils came back within 3-2 when sweeper Mike Petagna stole the ball in the midfield, laid it off to Vaso Arsenis on the wing, and Arsenis shot it under Eagles goalie Adam Hilderbrandt on the near post.
As the game wore on, the East Lake attack got stronger. The Eagles seemed to win every loose ball, and every cross looked like a potential goal.
"They're a very athletic team. They kept coming in waves of three or four at a time," St. Petersburg assistant Richard Peterson said. Peterson was filling in for coach Mike Clayton who had knee surgery Friday.
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