Gaither girls earn rest with 1-0 WCC win

By Jeremy Rasmussen
Published Jan. 29, 1999 in the St. Petersburg Times

VALRICO – The Gaither girls team designated Jessica Kmiotek to take its Western Conference Championship trophy to school today after the Cowboys topped Bloomingdale 1-0 in Thursday’s final.

The Cowboy seniors—all nine of them—will likely be out today on a ""senior skip day.’’

""We got back home after midnight last night,’’ Kmiotek said. ""Everyone’s really tired.’’

Unfortunately for her, however, Kmiotek is only a junior. At least she has the satisfaction of knowing she scored the winning goal in an otherwise defensive struggle.

In the 34th minute, Erin Sharpe struck a hard free kick into the box. Bulls goalie Kristen Meale could not handle it cleanly, and Kmiotek was there to knock it in.

Kimberly Martins had a couple chances to tie late in the game, but freshman goalie Michelle Kmiotek came up with some key saves.

The Bulls (13-5-3) struggled to move the ball from the midfield to their forwards as Gaither’s senior stopper Kristin "Scotty" Scotland was always there to clear it away.

""We have really strong attitudes,’’ Scotland said. ""We all get along great together and work as a team. We do things together like have team breakfasts.’’

And senior skip day.

To lend some legitimacy to the "infirmity" of the Gaither seniors, they did play two extremely hard-fought games on consecutive nights.

Wednesday, they edged high-powered Durant 3-2 in a shootout. Thursday, it took another titanic effort to shut out Bulls.

""We’ve been working really hard and waiting for this moment all year,’’ senior striker Michalene Cadiz said. ""The seniors want to go out with a bang.’’

The Gaither seniors also made sure coach Dianne Sumner was well-soaked with the water cooler following the game.

""They finally got me,’’ Sumner said. ""I’ve been saying all year, if these girls want it, they find a way to get it. To take on Durant and Bloomingdale and beat both within 24 hours is just amazing.’’

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