Puma Invitational Classic
Tampa, FL, Dec. 20-23, 1997
TAMPA -- It was a rough Saturday for Pinellas teams in the early rounds of the Puma Soccer Classic. Largo and Countryside ended up in the consolation bracket of the Premier tourney, and Clearwater Central Catholic went down to the consolation bracket of the Elite tourney. The good news is that all three teams will play again tomorrow at Black Watch Soccer Complex.
Countryside (7-1-1) was in the winners' bracket briefly after a 3-0 victory over Flagler Palm Coast. The win was costly, however, as the Cougars lost midfielder Ben Abele for the tournament with a red card, and several other players went out with injuries.
In their second round matchup, Countryside was mowed down by Hialeah American 6-0. American looked faster and stronger than the limping Cougars, and its attack came in wave after wave. ""We just chased them the whole game,'' Countryside coach Ron Marn said. American also won 5-0 over Lakeland Santa Fe in the first round and appears to be the team to beat in the Premier tourney.
Largo lost a heartbreaker in a penalty kick shootout to Tallahassee Leon in the first round. The Packers (6-0-1) led 1-0 on a goal by Russell Vreeland in the first half, but gave a up a late penalty kick to tie the score. Largo missed a P.K. during regulation that would have won the game, and in the shootout, all of their shooters were stopped by Leon goalie Christian Cummings. Meanwhile, all of the Lions shooters converted.
In their consolation bracket game, the Packers bounced back to crush Satellite Beach-Satellite 4-1. After giving up an early goal to the Scorpions (4-1-1), Largo tied the game on a goal by Joe Valencia off Nick Taylor's pass. Moments later, after missing two point-blank chances, Vreeland found the back of the net on his third try from an assist from Bryan Black.
Steve Borkowski was slated to be the fourth shooter in the earlier shootout but never got a chance. Against Satellite, he got his chance and converted with 10 minutes left in the first. Borkowski also played tough defense in the back, once clearing a ball off the goal line. ""We have to learn from that loss this morning,'' Borkoski said. ""We have to put away our chances better when we have them.''
Class 3A Clearwater Central Catholic played two physical matches against Class 6A teams from Tampa. In the first, the Marauders (4-3) went up 1-0 against Chamberlain, but couldn't hold the lead as the Chiefs fought back aggressively to take a 3-1 win.
In their second round match, the Marauders topped Gaither in a shootout after deadlocking 1-1 at the end of regulation. That was after CCC played down a man in the second half when goalie Tom Malinosky was ejected.
In tomorrow's action, Countryside faces Jacksonville Fletcher at 11, Largo takes on Jacksonville Stanton at 1, and CCC plays Lakeland George Jenkins at 1. The Premier tourney semifinal between American and defending champion Bloomingdale at 3 should be excellent.
Note: Tournament games that go to penalty kicks count as a tie on a team's regular season record.
TAMPA -- Now in its fourth year, the Puma Invitational High School Soccer Classic hosted by Jesuit, Berkeley Prep, and Black Watch features some of the best boys soccer in Florida. The tourney runs today, Monday, and Tuesday at Black Watch Soccer Complex, Temple Terrace Youth Sports Complex, and the University of South Florida.
The FHSAA limits soccer tournaments to 16 teams, thus the Puma tourney had to split its field into two groups--the Premier and the Elite.
According to coordinator Bob Bauman of Jesuit, both groups are equally strong and feature matchups based on geographical pairings and special interest. ""We put teams who play each other in the regular season in different brackets, and we paired the teams regardless of their classification,'' he said.
One of the more intriguing first-round matchups in the Elite tourney has Lake Mary facing Naples. Lake Mary's Larry McCorkle is one of the state's winningest prep soccer coaches, and Naples coach George Sasvari was his former assistant at Orlando Bishop Moore.
The tourney is also gaining national appeal. Perennial powerhouse Bloomingdale (3-0, ranked No. 4 in Class 6A) plays Ironweed, Arizona (6-1, ranked No. 4) in the first round of the Premier tourney. And host Jesuit (3-0, ranked No. 1 in 4A) plays New Orleans Jesuit (9-1, ranked No. 2 in Louisiana) in the Elite.
Thanks to a late start to the soccer season and rainouts that cancelled several games last week, many of the teams come into the tourney having only played two or three games. That could prove a big detriment against some of the nationally ranked teams that have 10 or more games under their belts.
Largo coach Steve Wolf says his 5-0 Packers are looking forward to testing their mettle against the best. ""This will be a strong indicator of where we stand,'' he said. ""We really haven't been tested much yet this year. This weekend we'll find out how good we really are.''
Today will be the most grueling for the teams, as they all have to play two games within five hours of each other. Wolf says controlling the tempo will be the key here: ""If we can move the ball well, and let the ball do most of the work, we won't get as physically tired.''
The tourney features the top three teams in Jacksonville--Fletcher (3-0, No. 6 in 5A), Bolles (3-1, No. 5 in 3A) and Stanton (5-1-1, No. 9 in 5A). Stanton's Chris McLeod was the leading scorer in Jacksonville last year with 41 goals. He is trying to keep pace with teammate Zell Jones, who already has 12 goals this year.
Tallahassee powers Lincoln (4-0, No. 1 in 6A) and Leon (5-2, No. 2 in 5A) also come in strong. Lincoln is coached by Santiago Molina, a former assistant coach with Bob Bauman at Chamberlain. Leon faces Largo in the first round.
The top three teams in Dade County--Miami American (3-0), Miami Sunset (4-0-1), and Miami Senior (4-0-1)--all come into the tourney unbeaten.
Some other teams to watch:
Melbourne Central Catholic (5-0) is ranked No. 2 in Class 3A. MCC lost to Clearwater Central Catholic in last year's state final, but returns the talented Adams brothers, Stash and Steve. CCC (3-2) has a chance to prove it's still the team to beat in Class 3A.
King (4-0) is ranked No. 5 in Class 6A. Forwards Paul Scrivens and Jason Sellers come in with seven goals apiece.
Lakeland George Jenkins (4-0) comes in ranked No. 3 in Class 5A with Berkeley Prep and Clearwater as two of its victims. John Odum (8 goals) leads the scoring.
Isaac Mullis (8 goals) and Agim Kaba (4 goals) lead Countryside
(4-0-1, ranked No. 8 in 5A). The Cougars have historically done well in
the tourney. Other area teams in the tourney include Gaither,
Chamberlain, River Ridge, and Berkeley Prep (see pairings, this page).
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