King Kiwanis Tourney - Day 1

By Jeremy Rasmussen
Published Nov. 21, 1999

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TAMPA – From the top of the East grandstand at King High School’s Bill Stewart Stadium, you can see four soccer games being played at once.

King is the site of the 18^th Annual Kiwanis Soccer Tournament, featuring nearly every boys and girls team in Hillsborough County—39 teams in all. Games take place on four pitches, including one in the outfield of the baseball field.

On Saturday, the Riverview girls posted the only upset of the day, upending Plant 5-1 with a hat trick from Laurynn Oliver.

In other action, the Chamberlain boys came closest to an upset with a 1-0 loss to Durant.

Durant got a last-minute goal from Josh Cline to help overcome a stellar defensive effort by Chief sweeper Travis Coon and goalie Peter Young.

Chamberlain suffered a 9-0 loss to Sickles earlier in the week but looked vastly improved Saturday.

"We needed this game to help build our confidence back up,’’ Chamberlain coach Chuck Rocca said. "This game proves we can hang with good teams.’’

If Gaither boys coach Adrian Bush was trying to lay low to start the season, the Cowboys blew his cover with an impressive 5-0 win over East Bay.

Bush has been trying to downplay the team’s chances in tough District 4A-7, saying he would be happy with a .500 record.

"We just want to be competitive,’’ Bush said. "We’ve got a lot to prove. Year in and year out, we have to fight for respect. This year’s no different.’’

Gaither’s Brenden Crampton headed in one score and assisted on another, while goalie Jared Swindle earned the shutout.

The Bloomingdale boys breezed past Wharton 8-1 as Cory Stump scored twice in the first five minutes of the match. The Wildcats did not get off a shot until the second half.

The Sickles boys downed Tampa Bay Tech 4-0 to set up a quarterfinal meeting with Plant City, also a 4-0 winner.

©1999 St. Petersburg Times.