Terrapins pull off 3-2 win over Bradenton

TAMPA (11/5/99) -- David Hughes' goal with five minutes to play capped an improbable comeback as the Terrapins beat defending state champion Bradenton Academy 3-2 in the fall state soccer regional semifi� nals.

The Terps (20-3) went down early on a pair of first-half goals by the Blazers' Ryan Daley.

In the second half, Blazer sweeper Weston Sanders went out after a collision with Tampa prep's Reid Bosek. Without a deep bench, the Blazers were hard-pressed to replace him.

In the 69th minute, Darryl Ogle took it up the wing and found Bosek wide open in the middle. Bosek buried it to pull within 2-1. Then, Ogle assisted on the tying goal with a free kick to the head of David Smolker, who had come forward from his stopper position on the play.

The Terps' continuous pressure on the ball on the Blazers' defensive end paid off a third time when Hughes got free in the middle, dribbled around a defender, and sent in the game-winner.

Bradenton Academy (7-5) features several players from the adidas Soccer Academy, a year-round residential soccer training facility.

"It was our heart,'' Smolker said. ""They're a really skilled team, and we didn't start out too well. But we came back hard in the second half and wore them down and beat them.''

-- JEREMY RASMUSSEN
(C)1999 St. Petersburg Times