The Tampa Bay Soccer Blog

A Conversation With ... Yohance Marshall

2010-05-07T09:07:00.000-07:00

Former South Florida defender Yohance Marshall returns to Tampa this weekend with the Austin Aztex who face the FC Tampa Bay Rowdies at Steinbrenner Field on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The Tampa Bay Soccer Blog took some time to catch up with the former All-American about arriving in Austin, his parent club the Los Angeles Galaxy and returning to Tampa.

TBSB: How are things going in Austin?

Yohance Marshall: Going pretty good so far. Getting adjusted to life out here.

TBSB: It’s a homecoming for you coming back to Tampa and your old stomping grounds at USF. When you got loaned to Austin was that one of the first things you looked for, when you’d be heading back to Tampa?

YM: I don’t think so, it’s all business right now. I have to do a job here right now and the first priority is to do that job, and we’re going to see what happens.

TBSB: Have you heard from any of your old friends from USF about coming out to the game to see you again.

YM: Yes, I actually talk to them a lot on a regular basis. Most of my friends aren’t really friends, they’re more like family, so I talk to them a lot. I also talked to my coach recently too.

TBSB: Coach (George) Kiefer? Do you and he stay in touch a lot?

YM: I do, I talk to them a lot. That’s my home away from home.

TBSB: You’ve started the last couple of games for the Aztex, are you starting to get a feel for the side after getting acclimatized?

YM: I think so. It’s been a little difficult changing to a little different style, but I think I’m understanding the guys a little more and the guys are getting to understand me and how I move so in that aspect of the game it’s getting a lot better.

TBSB: What have you guys learned about the Rowdies from their first three games and what are you guys focused on for Saturday night.

YM: What we know so far is that they’ve had three away games and they’ve gotten results which means they are playing really good. We are just prepared for everything. We hear they have some pretty technical guys out there so we’re just focusing on our game right now. If we both play like we know how to play it’s going to be a fun game.

TBSB: What’s it been like making the switch to Division II this year after playing with the Galaxy last year?

YM: I’m getting to play right now, that’s my main focus. The speed is a little different, out at the Galaxy there’s no room for error, the same as here, but I think the speed is a tad bit different.

TBSB: Is it nice to see your parent team doing as well as it is?

YM: It’s great. I still have friends out there, still talk to a few of the guys out there so to see them doing well is really good. I always look at the games online. To see Edson Buddle scoring a lot of goals, that’s awesome.

TBSB: You are going to be playing on a converted baseball field, have you ever experienced anything like that before or played on any unusual surfaces before?

YM: I actually did last year at San Jose. San Jose’s field was converted from the Oakland Athletics, so it was similar.

TBSB: Have you been telling the guys what it’s like playing with that infield dirt?

YM: Actually, I’m not sure exactly how it is out there, so we’re preparing for anything. Any kind of different bounce, I told the guys this morning it’s field and then there’s like some sand so you just have to look out for that.

TBSB: You guys have had a very good start to the season, three wins out of four. What’s the feeling around the camp, is it feeling like this is a team that could contend for the league title?

YM: I think everyone has goals, and that’s one of the main goals. I think we still have a lot to learn, and every day in practice we try to get better so every day and every game we try to make our team better for the end of the season.

TBSB: It’s opening day for Tampa, they’re expecting a big crowd, 6,000, maybe 8,000. Is that going to be a fun atmosphere to play in front of as a visiting team?

YM: It’s going to be a great atmosphere to play in front of because there’s going to be all the hype especially if I get to play it’s going to be great because I’m basically playing in front of the people that played in my career at USF, so it’s going to be really nice. It’s going to be fun playing in front of them again.

Mitchell's Rockwell takes Gatorade Player of the Year Award

2010-05-06T11:30:00.000-07:00

Mitchell High's Max Rockwell, who was critical to the Mustang's Class 4A State Championship two months ago, has been named Florida's Gatorade Boys Soccer Player of the Year.

The Tampa Tribune's Mike Camunas writes than when Rockwell was informed of the honor by Mitchell coach Oscar Ubillus on Wednesday night, he was blown away. Izzy Gould of the St. Petersburg Times also has coverage of the award.

Rockwell, who is headed to play for Southern Methodist University in the fall, had four goals and 21 assists for the Mustangs, who became the first boys soccer team from Pasco County to win a state title.

He is also a member of the Clearwater Chargers Under-18 academy team, which is currently in the middle of its U.S. Soccer Federation Academy League season.

Got Game? Copa Univision is waiting for you

2010-04-26T12:35:00.000-07:00

Think you've got the best six-a-side team in the bay area? The Copa Univision is your chance to prove it over a two-day tournament kicking off on Friday, May 7.

To be held at Cinco Soccer on Henry Avenue in Tampa, the 40-team tournament be split into two groups of 20, and then whittled down to a 16-team single-elimination bracket on Saturday afternoon to determine the winner.

Entry is $100 per team, with a first prize of $1,500 and second place taking $1,000. Games will be played over two 18-minute halves.

For more information, go to: http://www.cincosoccer.com/

Wharton's Vaughn commits to Florida Atlantic

2010-03-17T12:17:00.000-07:00

Wharton's Fallon Vaughn has committed to Florida Atlantic University for the 2011 season according to Wildcats coach Denis Vukorep.

Vaughn, who plays club soccer for Hillsborough County United, scored seven goals and added nine assists for the Wildcats this past season and was an honorable mention on the Tampa Tribune and St. Petersburg Times' All-Hillsborough County team named last week. Vaughn was also named to the Western Conference National Division First team.

The Owls already have a pair of bay area players on their roster in former Plant goalkeeper Courtney Zwetsch and former Countryside forward Katie Kent. Marisa Russo of Mitchell and Stephanie Ferro from East Lake also signed with the Owls in February to join the squad this fall.

Spartans looking for leadership from Swan, Griffin

2010-03-06T10:29:00.000-08:00

TAMPA – With eight starters departed from last fall’s side, the University of Tampa men's program may be a team in transition during spring practice, which began last week, and this upcoming fall.

If central midfielders Karl Swan and Ryan Griffin have anything to do about it, though, the Spartans will be back to make another run at a Top-5 finish and a national title.

Two of the three returning starters, Lister Warren being the third, Swan and Griffin have run the center of the Spartans midfield since being moved there during their freshman seasons in a game against Rollins College.

“Ryan Maxwell got red-carded, we were tied 0-0 in the game, he gets red-carded with about five minutes to go in the (first) half, we had to play down a man,” Spartans coach Adrian Bush said. “We popped Ryan and Karl in there, played with three in the middle, and from that day forward they haven’t left the position.”

A big reason for that is how well both players game’s fit together. Griffin is the bigger of the two, listed at 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds, and is constantly in the thick of the game, winning possession in the air and on the ground when opponents have the ball. Swan, at 5-10, 155 pounds, is the distributor, directing play as he uses his passing ability to switch the point of attack and move the team forward.

Both Swan and Griffin played together for RSL Florida prior to becoming Spartans, winning three state championships in five seasons with the club. Swan thinks that while it might have taken longer for the two to jell had they not played prior to UT, the fact that they had was beneficial to the Spartans program.

“With both our strengths, it would have taken a little bit longer,” Swan said. “I think it would have taken a year, maybe even two years to put both our strengths together. It was a great plus we had RSL and played four or five years together.”

That success at the club level, and in their first two season as Spartans has both players believing the side will be as strong in the past two seasons, with Griffin looking forward to taking a more active leadership role on the team.

“We’ve obviously got to take the reins now,” Griffin said. “The team is looking to us now, it’s our time. I’ve always been a very vocal person on my team, as I have for the past two years, but now the words mean a lot more, make sure you compliment the young guys coming in, make sure they can assimilate themselves well into the program.

“I’m not going to change anything personally, still working out the same, but definitely vocally I've got to be the voice of the team.”

And that is exactly what Bush wants both players to be.

“The leadership part, stepping up and being more vocal as a leader is something we’re going to expect of them,” Bush said. “These guys have played at a very good level and are accustomed to winning, and I think just feeding that type of mentality and that type of work ethic to everyone on the team, and especially the new guys coming in, is going to be the most important thing we can get from those guys.

“They’re team guys. They’re about the team, will play any position that you ask and are just about getting results, that’s all they care about.”

Pinellas rosters for Senior Challenge released

2010-02-25T09:44:00.000-08:00

The rosters for the Pinellas County boys and girls team for the Senior Soccer Challenge to be held at Countryside on March 6 have been announced, with a number of the players who competed at the state championships over the past two weeks included in both squads.

South Florida signees Javon Bostic, Ben Sweat and Shane Wixted will be on show for the boys squad, while Palm Harbor University’s girls state final team will have five players represented.

The complete squads are listed below.

PINELLAS BOYS

GOALKEEPERS: Andrew Hindman, Dunedin; Josh Paul, Palm Harbor.

DEFENDERS: Javon Bostic, East Lake; Dominic Gianfrancesco, Osceola; John Holecek, St. Petersburg; Brent Merrick, East Lake; Troy Pruitt, Northeast; Sean Rafferty, Seminole.

MIDFIELDERS: Jordan Beau, Clearwater; Troy Cobb, Seminole; Peter Cundiff, Osceola; Hamza Elotmani, Lakewood; Matt Kimball, East Lake; P.J. McDonald, Palm Harbor; Brice Nardozzi, Indian Rocks Christian; Josh Phillippi, Northeast; Ben Sweat, Palm Harbor; Shane Wixted, Seminole.

FORWARDS: Anthony Brenner, Dunedin; Nick Patterson, East Lake; Matt Thompson, Admiral Farragut; Billy Vasquez, Pinellas Park.

PINELLAS GIRLS

GOALKEEPERS: Kim Cohn, Countryside; Casey Merson, Seminole.

DEFENDERS: Colleen Lynch, Palm Harbor; Cina Salemi, Palm Harbor; Christy Rickrode, Dunedin; Maryah Finch, Tarpon Springs; Shannon Walisch, Palm Harbor, Lauren Grove, St. Petersburg.

MIDFIELDERS: Casey McKeon, St. Petersburg Catholic; Thea Linkfield, Countryside; Julia Bosacki, Clearwater; Kendall Narum, Countryside; Stephanie Ferro, East Lake; Noel Forsman, Seminole; Nicole Carter, St. Petersburg.

FORWARDS: Jensen Eifert, Indian Rocks Christian; Tatiana Perez, East Lake; Megan Lawrence, Seminole; Ronnica Harris, Largo; Catherine Brinkman, Palm Harbor; Zoe Lombard, Palm Harbor; Jolie Annichiarico, Clearwater Central Catholic; Kelsey Dougherty-Howard, St. Petersburg Catholic.

Hillsborough Boys squad announced for Senior Challenge

2010-02-24T11:48:00.001-08:00

The Hillsborough boys squad for the Senior Soccer Challenge to be held at Countryside High on March 6 has been announced, with 17 different schools being represented among the 23 players and two alternates selected for this year’s game.

Sickles leads the roster with four players selected, while Class 2A state champions Tampa Prep will be represented by Wes Sever and Anthony Baumann in the game against the Pinellas All-Stars.

The full squad, to be coaches by Wharton's Scott Ware and Gaither's Eric Sims, is listed below.

Goalkeepers: Brandon Stout, Sickles; Derrick Miranda, East Bay

Defenders: Gil Davis, Sickles; David Campbell, Wharton; Josh Santos, Gaither; Ben Wiley, Sickles; Brendan McCarron, Tampa Catholic; C.R. Lewis, King.

Midfielders: Boris Simeunovic, Sickles; Ellis Curry, Freedom; Luis Rodriguez, Leto; Steven Scrivens, King; Jesus Torres, Armwood; Jake Felman, Berkeley Prep.

Forwards: Billy Fanning, Durant; Miguel Cadavid, Jesuit; T.J. Roehn, Berkeley Prep; Steven Gonzalez, Newsome; Esgar Montelongo, Plant City; Anthony Baumann, Tampa Prep; Wes Sever, Tampa Prep; David Castillo, East Bay.

Alternates: M Brad Keefe, Brandon; F Fedson Hilaire, Middleton.

Tribune girls soccer correspondent Jarrett Guthrie has details of the girls roster, announced last week. That squad can be found here.

Rowdies to unveil uniforms, preseason schedule Wednesday

2010-02-23T08:17:00.001-08:00

The FC Tampa Bay Rowdies will unveil their uniforms for the team’s inaugural season, and the remainder of the clubs preseason schedule, at a press conference to be held on Wednesday at 10 a.m. the club said in a statement issued on Tuesday morning.

At the second player combine, held in Liverpool, England, late last year, the side was outfitted by Under Armor in its scrimmage against Wrexham, but it is unclear if that partnership will carry over to the regular season.

The first three of the Rowdies preseason games became public last week, with games against the University of Tampa, FC Dallas and the Philadelphia Union all slated to be played at Pepin Stadium. The Rowdies had previous said they expected to have five or six preseason games in all.

The Rowdies are also appearing to step up their visibility efforts within the soccer community. After an autograph session with Pascal Milien, Adam Nowland and Joe Donoho at the BAYSL Fields in Brandon on Saturday, the club confirmed it will have a presence just inside the entrance gate at Wednesday night’s United States vs. El Salvador game at Raymond James Stadium.

Preps: Tampa Prep takes Class 2A Championship

2010-02-20T09:25:00.000-08:00

It was a remarkable night for Tampa Prep's boys, and the massive crowd they brought with them to the University of Tampa's Pepin Stadium on Friday night.

For the third time in four years, and fourth time overall, the Terrapins earned the Class 2A State championship with a 2-1 victory against Delray Beach American Heritage.

Wes Sever's words just after charging around the Pepin Stadium field with the 2A trophy in the grasp exemplified the exhiliration the entire side appeared to be feeling.

"This is exhilarating. Amazing. Now I know what Matt Hebert, Sam Wiand the seniors my freshman year, and in my sophomore year Ryan Griffin, Brad Sienkiewicz, this is what it feels like to win your senior year. Never would I have thought we would have been back on this stage in front of our home crowd to beat a team like American Heritage tonight. It's absolutely exhilarating.

"I can't explain to you in words how much this means to me, how much this team means to me, how much the Tampa Prep community (means to me), and having all these fans here tonight, it's absolutely amazing. Words can't describe what I'm feeling right now, what I feel for these players, what I feel for these coaches, what I feel for the administration. Everyone in the school, I love it, they were behind 100 percent of the way. We brought our entire school out here, and for the semifinals, it's just absolutely amazing."

That gives two bay area teams state championships, with Seminole and Palm Harbor looking to add to the haul this afternoon and evening as they face Melbourne and Boca Raton respectively in the Class 5A and Class 6A finals.

Seminole earned its place in the final with a 1-0 victory against Tallahassee Lincoln, Shane Wixted scoring on a penalty in the final minute of the first half after Charles Lynch had been brought down in the area.

Palm Harbor will get a shot at a second straight state title, duplicating the accomplishment of their girls team last week, after a 2-1 victory against Miami Killian that turned on a brilliant save by Hurricanes goalkeeper Josh Paul and a brilliant solo goal by Ben Sweat, both coming with a span of about 80 seconds.

If you can't get to Pepin Stadium this afternoon or this evening, Seminole is schedule to kick off at 4:30 p.m., Palm Harbor at 7 p.m., you can follow live updates of both games via the TBSB twitter feed, which can be found at twitter.com/tbsoccerblog.

Preps: Western Conference Teams announced

2010-02-19T15:07:00.000-08:00

The Boys and Girls Western Conference Soccer teams have been announced, with Boys coaches Chris Lewis of King, Tony Calvo of Sickles and Neal Rickmers of Newsome being named their respective divisions Coaches of the Year.

Steve McGill of Plant, Chris Hinkle of Freedom and Kelly Townsend of Newsome earned the girls coaches of the year awards on the girls sides.

WESTERN CONFERENCE BOYS SOCCER

National Division, First Team: GK Chris Garcia, King; D C.R. Lewis, King; D David Campbell, Wharton; M Juan Arango, Wharton; M Steven Scrivens, King; M Jesus Torres, Armwood; M Daniel Barboto, Hillsborough; M Ellis Curry, Freedom; M Elliot Toledo, Freedom; M Alex Noble, Wharton; F Fedson Hilaire, Middleton.

Second Team: GK Keenan Kushner, Wharton; D Joey Soto, Freedom; D Stephen Brock, Hillsborough; D Jake Bakes, King; M Mazeed Aro-Lambo, Strawberry Crest; M Noah Schaffer, Strawberry Crest; M Alex Stickley, Wharton; F Josh Davis, King; F Taylor Nalls, Freedom; F Connor Dozark, Wharton; F Kofi Forkuoh, Hillsborough.

American Division, First Team: GK Brandon Stout, Sickles; D Gil Davis, Sickles; D Josh Santos, Gaither; D Jay Rivera, Alonso; D Winston Lightbody, Blake; M Luis Rodriguez, Leto; M Philip Jorge, Steinbrenner; M Boris Simeunovic, Sickles; F Jordan See, Gaither; F Kody Thomas, Robinson; F Josh Munch, Plant.

Second Team: GK John Nardozzi, Gaither; D Zac Steuer, Robinson; D Ben Wiley, Sickles; M Michael Bajza, Sickles; M Danny Johnson, Plant; M Charlie Delmar, Gaither; M Anthony Melatti, Steinbrenner; F Zach Wheeler, Gaither; F Jesse Dickerson, Leto; F Oliver Ortiz, Steinbrenner; F Jonathon Thomas, Alonso.

Federal Division, First Team: GK Derrick Miranda, East Bay; D Paul Snyder, Bloomingdale; D Matt Encinoza, Riverview; D Jose Galarza, Lennard; M Patrick Hacker, Newsome; M Miguel Cerveleon, East Bay; M Joey Perfetto, Newsome; F Billy Fanning, Durant; F Tevin Gage, Bloomingdale; F Steven Gonzalez, Newsome; F Carlos Galeano, Newsome.

Second Team: GK Jamie Shepard, Newsome; D Michael La Greca, Newsome; D Cesar Rodriguez, Lennard; M Andrew Clare, Riverview; M Andres Plata, Durant; M James Brown, Spoto; M Will Coates, Riverview; M Jacob Brumbeloe, Durant; M Armani Alicea, Newsome; F Joey Sanchez, Bloomingdale; F Alejandro Chavez, Lennard.

WESTERN CONFERENCE GIRLS SOCCER

National Division, First Team: GK Emily Ball, Freedom; D Gabbie Peek, Freedom; D Elena Madrazo, Chamberlain; D Emily Crawford, Hillsborough; D Jasmine Jameson, Hillsborough; D Emily Belanger, Wharton; M Olivia Bloemke, Freedom; M Alexa Morse, Hillsborough; M Emily Rodriguez, Wharton; M Fallon Vaughn, Whharton; F Shelby Million, Wharton.

Second Team: GK Amber Davis, Hillsborough; D Jaclyn Kalik, King; D Ali Diioia, Freedom; D Gail Wichman, Freedom; D Christina Lepochat, Armwood; M Jenna Stiling, Freedom; M Jessica Baumann, Freedom; M Morgan Parker, Hillsborough; M Alicia Espinoza, Hillsborough; F Megan Nelson, Hillsborough; F Cynthia Re, Tampa Bay Tech.

American Division, First Team: GK Lauryn Bodden, Plant; D Sarah Moyer, Sickles; D Sydney Sivitz, Sickles; D Amy Werdine, Plant; M Alexis Bredeau, Steinbrenner; M Lauren Moore, Gaither; F CiCi Gonzalez, Steinbrenner; F Taylor Valley, Steinbrenner; F Raquel Hill, Robinson; F Connor Zwetsch, Plant; F Ashley Acco, Gaither.

Second Team: GK Kimberly Rios, Leto; D Elena Atenza, Alonso; D Carly Keene, Steinbrenner; D Jordan Laughlin, Gaither; M Molly Ganther, Plant; M Ellen Moore, Plant; M Kaylee Cunningham, Robinson; M Diana Rosquette, Sickles; F Caroline Bado, Plant; F Madison Henriquez, Gaither.

Federal Division, First Team: GK Megan Fox, Durant; D Meghan Lanteigne, Bloomingdale; D Isabel Vazquez, East Bay; D Jackie Simpson, Newsome; M Jordan Johnson, Bloomingdale; M Nikki Peet, Bloomingdale; M Olivia Clare, Riverview; M Karina Gutsche, Newsome; M Caroline Evers, Newsome; M Nicole Grinnell, Durant; F Brittany Cox, East Bay.

Second Team: GK Ebony Campbell, Riverview; D Shaylyn Corgan, Durant; D Rebecca Oser, Bloomingdale, D Devon Marshall, Spoto; M Natalie Preston, East Bay; M Shea Rhoney, Newsome; M Christy Fatiero, Durant; M Kara Buono, Bloomingdale; F Liz Haumschild, Newsome; F Taylor De Caire, Newsome; F Delaney Poli, East Bay.

Preps: Mitchell earns state championship

2010-02-19T07:11:00.000-08:00

The chant began before the Mitchell High players had received their medals.

"S-R-A, S-R-A, S-R-A", they shouted towards the administrators on the sideline.

S-R-A? School Related Absence.

The Mustangs probably do deserve the day off after winning the first Boys Soccer State Title in Pasco County history, a 1-0 victory against Jacksonville Stanton Prep on Thursday night giving the Mustangs the title.

Jason Leslie scored the only goal, banging in the rebound after Max Rockwell's penalty was saved by Stanton goalkeeper Ryan O'Farrell.

Tampa Prep will try to earn its third state title in four seasons, and fourth overall, when it faces defending Class 2A state champion Delray Beach American Heritage on Friday night at 7:30 p.m.

The Terrapins swept past Tallahassee Maclay on Thursday afternoon, Jake Peterson, Wes Sever and Anthony Baumann all finding the net in the first half of a 3-1 victory. The Terrapins will need to put that first half effort in for the full 80 minutes against the Stallions, though, who were very impressive in a 5-2 victory against Orangewood Christian in the other semifinal.

If you can't make it to Pepin Stadium for tonight's game, TBO.com will again be webcasting the game as it happens this evening from 7:15 p.m.

Before the Terrapins take the field for a shot at a championship, both Seminole and Palm Harbor University will try to reach their respective state finals in Class 5A and 6A.

Bryan Burns of the St. Petersburg Times tracks the path both teams have travelled to reach this point of the season.

For those of you who can't make the Warhawks game against Auburndale at 12:45 p.m. or Palm Harbor's game against Miami Killian, the TBSB will be tweeting both games live.

Preps: Mitchell moves on, Tampa Prep on deck

2010-02-18T05:34:00.000-08:00

Mitchell got a huge left from goalkeeper Josh Berres on Wenesday night, as a crucial save in the 95th minute, midway through the second overtime, and then a pair of stops in a penalty shootout allowed the Mustangs to advance to the first boys soccer state championship game in school history with a 3-1 shootout victory after it had played Pembroke Pines Charter to a 0-0 tie through 100 minutes of regulation and overtime.

The Tampa Tribune's Mike Camunas writes that at the beginning of the season, Berres wasn't a sure thing to be the Mustangs' goalkeeper, with Coach Oscar Ubillus selecting him over Robbie Wallace, now a starting defender for the side. The St. Petersburg Times' Izzy Gould references Berres new nickname "Spider Monkey" and the brilliant manner in which Berres made his stops, including pulling the Mustangs back into the shootout with a second round save after his side trailed 1-0 after the opening round of shots.

The Mustangs will face Jacksonville Stanton Prep in Thursday night's final, the Blue Devils also needing a shootout to defeat Palmetto 4-1 after a 0-0 tie through regulation and overtime. As the Florida Times-Union's Francine King writes, winning shootouts has become a habit for the Blue Devils.

If you can't get to Pepin Stadium for tonight's game, TBO.com will be broadcasting a live gamecast of all the action, which can be found here.

Earlier on Thursday, Tampa Prep will aim to reach the Class 2A state final as it faces Tallahassee Maclay at 12:45 p.m. As I wrote for this morning's Tribune, the turnaround to the Terrapins' season came at just the right moment, with the side appearing to be playing its best soccer of the season as it enters the final four.

As with Mitchell's game later in the day, TBO.com will be providing a gamecast of the Terrapins match against the Marauders, which can be found here.

Preps: Girls Finals Wrap, Mitchell boys look for success

2010-02-17T06:31:00.000-08:00

After having seen both Berkeley Prep and Seminole fall, the Bucs in a shootout and the Warhawks in overtime, Palm Harbor earned the Tampa Bay area its only state title of the girls final four weekend on Saturday night.

Kelly Phipps' overtime goal proved the difference in a 1-0 victory against West Boca Raton, and as The St. Petersburg Times' John C. Cotey writes, the Hurricanes exceeded expectations.

The Buccaneers had earlier come a goalline away from picking up their first state title, an overtime chance for Sam Newhaller being cleared off the line as it appeared Berkeley was going to be rewarded for a strong game against Plantation American Heritage.

Instead, the Buccaneers fell 1-0 in a penalty shootout, giving the Patriots their second straight Class 3A title, and sixth since 2000.

Seminole's loss was almost as agonizing. After being reduced to 10 men early in the second half, the Warkhawks fought tooth and nail against ESPN Rise No.1 Melbourne only for Kristin Grubka to grab a 2-1 victory for the Bulldogs with a goal early in overtime.

With that victory, and the 25-0 perfect season, Melbourne was named ESPN Rise's Winter National Champion on Tuesday. The Bulldogs were, understandably, thrilled to have competed a second straight undefeated season, and took a moment to reflect on what a remarkable run they had embarked on the past two seasons.

Now, the boys championships are upon us, and Mitchell opens up play for the four bay area schools tonight when the Mustangs face Pembroke Pines Charter this evening at 5 p.m.

According to the Times' Izzy Gould, Mustangs coach Oscar Ubillus encouraged his players to visit Pepin Stadium last season for the boys final four, and last week for the girls, to help them envision what it would be like to be there themselves. The Tampa Tribune's Mike Camunas details the work the Mustangs have put in, with two-a-day practices in preparation for tonight's game.

Those of you who can't make the game, TBO.com will be broadcasting live from Pepin Stadium tonight, and you can follow the play-by-play from 4:45 p.m. here.

Preps: Tampa Prep girls fall short; Tough night for Hillsborough County boys

2010-02-13T07:08:00.001-08:00

Tampa Prep’s hopes of a second state title were dashed on Friday night as the Terrapins were never able to find their rhythm against a strong Delray Beach American Heritage side that earned a 2-0 victory for its third state title.

The Tampa Tribune’s Jarrett Guthrie details the game here.

Seminole and Palm Harbor did advance to their respective finals today, the Warhawks coming through a torrential downpour for most of the game to edge Lynn Haven Mosley 1-0 in overtime while Palm Harbor eased past Miami Lourdes 2-0.

Berkeley Prep will try to earn its first state title this morning as it faces Plantation American Heritage at 11 a.m. PAH is going for its sixth state title, all earned since 2000, and its second straight, and enters as the No.9-ranked team in the country according to ESPN Rise.

If you can’t get to Pepin Stadium, you can follow all the action here, as TBO.com will be webcasting the game live.

Elsewhere, the St. Petersburg Times' Eduardo A. Encina reports that Hillsborough County is interested in keeping the State Soccer Finals in Tampa for the next two seasons. The county holds a two-year option, and Hillsborough County Athletic Director Lanness Robinson believes the tournament is "good for the community."

In boys action on Friday night, it was a tough night for Hillsborough County teams as Sickles, Newsome and Berkeley Prep all fell one step short of the final four with region final losses to Seminole, Auburndale and Fort Myers Bishop Verot respectively.

Newsome was unlucky not to reach its first final four in a 3-2 defeat to Auburndale, the Wolves controlling more possession and creating more chances. Unfortunately, they were unable to take advantage of their superiority where it mattered most, missing a first half penalty and having a second half goal ruled out on a close offside call, and the Bloodhounds made them pay.

Seminole played giant-killer again, defeating Sickles in a penalty shootout after the two sides had played to a 1-1 tie through regulation and overtime. After upsetting East Lake on Tuesday night, Warhawks coach Rick Masi told the Times' Joey Knight he wasn't competely sure he could explain the Warhawks playoff run.

Berkeley Prep couldn't hold on to a halftime lead against Bishop Verot, falling 2-1 to the Vikings. In a text message after the game, Buccaneers coach Tim Cooper said his side got away from its normal style of play, and paid the price for it.

That leaves Tampa Prep as the lone Hillsborough side remaining, the Terrapins’ match against Vero Beach St. Edward’s being postponed until today at 1 p.m.

In Pasco County, Mitchell reached the state final four for the first time with a 1-0 victory against Celebration. The Tribune’s Mike Camunas was at the game, and filed this report on the Mustangs remarkable run.

With Seminole already through after its shootout victory against Sickles, Palm Harbor can make it two Pinellas teams in the final four with a victory against Orlando Olympia this afternoon, the Hurricanes match being postponed on Friday night as well due to the heavy rains that swept through the state.

Preps: Gryphons, Wolves look to reach first state finals

2010-02-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

It’s a big night for Sickles and Newsome as both schools try to advance to the state final four for the first time in either of the boys soccer programs histories.

Sickles is at home, where they have been dominant all season, to take on a surprising Seminole squad that upset East Lake 4-0 on Tuesday night. The Gryphons needed a penalty shootout to get past district rival Gaither, and will look to put in a more composed performance, getting into their passing rhythm better despite still being without key midfielder Michael Bazja, currently in Puerto Rico with the Region III Olympic Development Program.

Newsome, on the other hand, appears to have all of its mojo working as it hosts Auburndale. The Wolves pulled off a miraculous comeback against Plant City on Tuesday night, winning 4-3 in overtime after being down 3-1 with 20 minutes to go. At the center of the comeback was Steven Gonzalez, who now has hat tricks in his last two games. The Wolves will need to be at their best against the Bloodhounds, who despite only being a district runner-up are ranked No.46 in the ESPN Rise Fab 50. Their loss to Lakeland George Jenkins in the district final was the Bloodhounds first loss of the season, and they have had state title pedigree before, winning in 2005 and 2007.

For a look at Berkeley Prep, Tampa Prep and their opponents tonight, click here.

In Pasco county, Mitchell will face Celebration in the first region final in program history. The Tampa Tribune's Mike Camunas takes a look at the match-up here.

Preps: Terrapins, Buccaneers advance to state finals

2010-02-12T07:39:00.000-08:00

It was a remarkable afternoon for Hillsborough County schools at the FHSAA Girls State Soccer Finals as both Tampa Prep and Berkeley Prep advanced to their respective state finals win convincing victories on Thursday.

The Terrapins got a pair of goals in the first 10 minutes, and were able to control the most of the game against Tallahassee Maclay in a 3-1 victory as they exuded confidence on the ball. They were also able to do an excellent job Reanna Leoni in check, Amber Miller and Isabel Dalence in particular doing an excellent job.

The Terrapins will need to put in a similar performance against Delray Beach American Heritage on Friday night if they are to claim the title, but with a big contingent of fans behind them, as there were on Thursday lunchtime, the Terrapins could win their second state title in three years.

Berkeley Prep May have been even more dominant, making Pensacola Catholic chase the ball all afternoon in a 1-0 victory on Samantha Newhaller’s early goal. The Buccaneers girls have never advanced to a state title game before in the program’s history, and with Ken Roberts now in his 30th season as the team’s head coach, it would be nice to see him claim a state championship against Plantation American Heritage on Saturday morning.

On Thursday, they were at close to their best, the passing and movement off the ball being excellent. Against the Patriots, that will likely pay dividends as American Heritage, 3-0 winners against Melbourne Central Catholic in the other semifinal, will likely not play the same defensive style that the Bucs found difficult to break down after their opening goal.

Friday’s action sees the attention switch to Pinellas County to begin, as Seminole face Lynn Haven Mosley at 12:45 p.m. in the 5A semifinals, with Palm Harbor taking on Miami Lourdes at 5;15 p.m.

The St. Petersburg Times' John C. Cotey writes that the Warhawks believe this is their year. Palm Harbor, on the other hand, has used a stingy defense that has given up only four goals in 22 games this season to reach this point.

Preps: Live Final Four coverage at TBO.com

2010-02-11T07:14:00.000-08:00

Can't make it to Pepin Stadium this afternoon to watch Tampa Prep and Berkeley Prep try to advance to the Class 2A and 3A finals respectively? If you can access a computer, TBO.com has you covered.

The Tampa Tribune's website will offer live game coverage of both matches, Tampa Prep kicking off at 12:45 p.m. and Berkeley Prep at 3 p.m. Follow the links and interact with me as I host both events.

For Tampa Prep vs. Tallahasse Maclay, click here: http://bit.ly/9FrThz

For Berkeley Prep vs. Pensacola Catholic, click here: http://bit.ly/cd7DvG

Preps: Plant's upset bid falls in overtime to Palm Harbor

2010-02-11T07:05:00.000-08:00

Plant's boys bid to reach the Class 6A-Region 2 final came up just short on Wednesday night as Ben Sweat's overtime goal gave Palm Harbor University a 3-2 victory, sending the Hurricanes through to face Orlando Olympia in Friday's region final.

In what has been a breakout season for the Panthers, restoring some of the luster to a program that had underachieved in the past few seasons, the end was a disappointing one. That said, it appears Coach Chris Carbon has this side pointed in the right direction, and while they will lose a good amount of senior talent before next season, there should be enough returning for the Panthers to make another run at the region playoffs.

The Hurricanes, on the other hand, haven't made it easy on themselves so far, needing a penalty shootout to defeat Bloomingdale prior to Wednesday night's result. The Hurricanes, though, are a very talented team that is certainly capable of reaching the final four again after winning the Class 5A title last season.

Preps: Tampa Prep finds confidence ahead of state semifinal

2010-02-10T19:11:00.000-08:00

TAMPA – Reaching the FHSAA State Finals is becoming a habit for Tampa Prep’s girls program, who appeared relaxed and enjoying themselves the afternoon before they face Tallahassee Maclay in the Class 2A state semifinals on Friday afternoon at 12:45 p.m.

It’s easy to understand why. After struggling for confidence through the regular season, and even for parts of the district playoffs, the Terrapins appear to have more of a bounce in their step after overcoming three good teams to advance to Pepin Stadium.

“It’s the confidence, absolutely, because they believe in themselves now,” Terrapins coach Cindy Schofield said. “It’s a lot lighter at practice, they’re having fun with it, they want to win. The ones that were here two years ago when we won it, they know what it takes, and they’re going to carry the rest of them into it.”

Maybe the biggest reason for the emergence of that confidence has been the return of central midfielder Jackie Rosenthal. Sidelined with a slight tear in her right meniscus, Rosenthal’s return for the Terrapins in the district final allowed Amber Miller to return to her more familier defensive role, and that in turn has made the Terrapins a very tough team to break down offensively.

The Terrapins know that will need to continue against a Maclay team that swept to Tampa with a 5-0 victory against Rocky Bayou Christian on Friday night. Having faced, and defeated, a side with a similar resume to Maclay in West Palm Beach King’s Academy on Friday in the region final, though, the Terrapins say they won’t be intimidated by their opponents.

“I think we respect the fact that they’re going to be a good team, everyone in the final four is a good team, but I think we have the confidence now that we can go in and play to the best of our abilities, play hard and win,” goalkeeper Jordan Hatton said.

While the Terrapins defense has been solid in their three-game run through the region, one member of the team has been surprisingly quiet. Forward Colby Maffei leads Hillsborough County with 44 goals this season, but was held scoreless in the Terrapins past two games against St. Stephen’s and King’s. That may be a good sign, though, as a player of Maffei’s quality won’t usually be held in check for too long.

“She’s dangerous at any time,” Schofield said. “The thing with Colby is the defense can focus so much on her, and you have a Caroline Cheek or Jackie Rosenthal or Alyssa Bryant who can step up and score.

“(Colby’s) just got to stay calm and not try to do it all herself, and she hasn’t done that since the beginning of the season. She’s matured and she knows to play off her teammates.”

One thing the Terrapins will be able to rely on? Massive support. The school is letting its students make the short walk across Cass Street to attend the game, meaning the Terrapins will have a big crowd behind them.

“It’ll give us a lot of confidence,” defender Lauren Knoke said of the support. “I think just coming out strong, not being intimidated, coming out fast, good possession, that’s what’s going to keep us in the game.”

Preps: Buccaneers focused on one half at a time

2010-02-10T14:44:00.000-08:00

TAMPA – As well as his side has played, and as close as it is to its goal of a state championship, Berkeley Prep girls soccer coach Ken Roberts’ mantra always stays the same.

“One half at a time,” Roberts said. “They know what they have to do, one half at a time.”

The Buccaneers face Pensacola Catholic on Thursday afternoon at 3 p.m. at the University of Tampa’s Pepin Stadium in the FHSAA Class 3A Girls State Semifinals with a couple of players carrying some bumps and bruises, but confident they can continue the run of form that has gotten them to this point. The key to that, according to Roberts, has been the performance of the Buccaneers’ midfield. The quartet of Amber Famiglietti, Becca Hurst, Danielle Manning and Megan Williams have raised their games come playoff-time, leading to three straight dominant victories in the region competition.

“The focus of our game is the movement of the ball, and that focus comes through our central midfielders, and I think both of them have lifted their games as far as the transition of play and the way we move the ball across the field,” Roberts said. “At the same time, I can look at our defensive group, as a team I think we’ve played much stronger defensive matches, having the opportunity to play with Morgan (Orobello) in goal for the last three games I think lifted the level of play of our defensive unit, and I think also the players on the offensive end have lifted their game as well.

“I think every one of them have been working on their goals and they’re setting their sights on certain things they want to accomplish before the season is over.”

Berkeley has lost in the semifinals each of the three times it has advanced to the final four before, but none of the current squad has reached this stage before. Roberts believes the biggest key to the Buccaneers advancing to Saturday’s final will be their patience, which could get tested by a Pensacola team that has been tight defensively throughout the season, and advanced to the final four with a penalty shootout victory against Jacksonville Bolles on Friday.

“I think we’re going to have to work for our opportunities,” Roberts said. “From what I can see, they’ve had a a great season, had 18 shutouts, so they haven’t given up a lot of scoring, so we’re going to need to be patient, we’re going to need to find our passes in the box to finish. Their ‘keeper has come up big for them in a number of matches as well, so it’s going to be about patience, going to be about finding the openings and finishing the opportunities we do get.”

Preps: Stout shines for Sickles, Seminole stuns East Lake, Newsome records remarkable rally in region semifinals

2010-02-10T07:40:00.000-08:00

It wasn't the same level of play as their previous two encounters, thanks mainly to the high stakes involved, but the intensity between Sickles and Gaither last night lived up to all the pregame hype.

In the end, though, it was Sickles goalkeeper Brandon Stout who stole the show, stopping all three Gaither shooters in the penalty shootout to send his side through to the Class 5A-Region 3 final. According to Stout, it was the first time he had accomplished such a feat in a shootout at any level, and as I wrote here for the Tampa Tribune, before a shot even got taken, you could tell before the shootout began that Stout was at the peak of his game.

The Gryphons will face Seminole in the region final after the Warhawks stunned district rival East Lake 4-0. As The St. Petersburg Times' Bryan Burns writes here, it was the first time in five meetings this season that the Warhawks had defeated the Eagles, and they did so by playing a flawless game, taking an early lead and racking up a 3-0 advantage by halftime.

In Class 5A-Region 2, Newsome's remarkable run in their first region tournament continued thanks to Steven Gonzalez, who scored a hat trick including the game-winner, as the Wolves rallied for a 4-3 overtime victory against Plant City. The Tribune's Jarrett Guthrie was at the game, and filed this report.

The Wolves will now host Auburndale, which continued its run from being a district runner-up to the region final with a 2-0 victory against Ridge Community School on Tuesday.

In Class 4A, Jesuit's season came to an end against a strong, and experienced, Palmetto team trying to make its second straight run to the final four. As the Times' Eduardo A. Encina writes, Jesuit's youth was a key factor in the 4-1 defeat, but Coach Bob Bauman remained confident his side would be back and stronger for it next season.

Mitchell, on the other hand, is going to its first region final after the Mustangs defeated Land O' Lakes 3-2. As The Times' Izzy Gould writes, early goals from mistakes by the Gators proved crucial for the senior-heavy Mustangs.

The Mustangs will face Celebration in the region final after it defeated Ocala Vanguard 2-1.

Berkeley Prep set up the showdown with Fort Myers Bishop Verot most had been anticipating with a 7-1 victory against Clearwater Central Catholic. Kevin Harvey and T.J. Roeh each scored twice for the Buccaneers, Roehn reaching the 104 goal-mark for his career, putting him one behind Tyler Davis for the Buccaneers school record.

Bishop Verot has just as easy a time against DeSoto County, the No.22 team in the latest ESPN Rise national rankings earning a 6-1 victory.

Tampa Prep also cruised into the region final, Wes Sever notching a hat trick for the Terrapins in a 7-1 victory against Indian Rocks Christian. The Terrapins will travel to face Vero Beach St. Edward's in the region final after the Pirates defeated Evangelical Christian 3-1 to advance to the region final.

TBO.com launches Rowdies Report

2010-02-09T13:48:00.001-08:00

The Tampa Tribune and TBO.com have launched the Rowdies Report, to be run by yours truly, to keep local fans up to date with all the latest news from Tampa's newest professional franchise.

The weblog can be found here: http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/sports/related/C974/

The twitter feed here: twitter.com/tbo_rowdies

And you can become our fan on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tampa-FL/TBOcom-FC-Tampa-Bay-Rowdies/293737840868?ref=ts

Do join up, won't you?

Preps: Sickles No.6 in NSCAA, No.15 in ESPN Rise polls

2010-02-09T11:59:00.000-08:00

Sickles boys soccer squad has moves up to No.6 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of American national prep poll, and to No.15 in the ESPN Rise Fab 50 rankings ahead of its game against Gaither in the Class 5A-Region 3 boys soccer semifinals tonight.

The Gryphons were ranked No.10 by the NSCAA in the last set of rankings two weeks ago, and edged up one spot in the ESPN rankings from last week.

Sickles is No.2 in the State behind Melbourne in the NSCAA regional rankings, with East Lake ranked No.6 in the region. The Eagles are also ranked No.23 nationally by ESPN ahead of their game tonight with Seminole in the other Class 5A-Region 3 semifinal.

On the girls side, Palm Harbor moved up to No.8 in the ESPN Rise Fab 50 after its advancement to the state final four on Saturday with a 2-1 win against Apopka. The Hurricanes didn’t break into the NSCAA Top 10, though, currently ranked No.9 in the regional rankings, behind Berkeley Prep which currently sits in the No.7 spot.

Plant at Palm Harbor Region semifinal postponed

2010-02-09T11:20:00.000-08:00

The Class 6A-Region 2 Boys semifinal between Plant and Palm Harbor scheduled for Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Palm Harbor has been postponed to Wednesday at 7 p.m. the school confimed on Tuesday afternoon.

Plant coach Chris Carbon said in a text message just after 2 p.m. that he had been told the match had been postponed.

Currently, the remaining games in the Tampa Bay area appear to be going ahead despite the rain that has blanketed most of the bay area all day.

Preps: Sickles-Gaither rematch highlights region semifinal schedule

2010-02-09T07:34:00.000-08:00

The first two meetings beween Sickles and Gaither have been outstanding affairs, Sickles winning the regular season meeting and edgeing out the Cowboys in a penalty shootout for the 5A-District 9 title just over a week ago.

If you're a fan of soccer, and haven't got an obligation to another school to be at their game tonight, go and see this game, Sickles High, 7 p.m. tonight.

For a look at all of the region semifinals involving Hillsborough and Pasco County teams, here is the preview I wrote for the Tampa Tribune this morning.

The St. Petersburg Times' Bryan Burns takes a look at the four games involving Pinellas County teams, including the one all-Pinellas match-up of East Lake vs. Seminole here.

Can't make it to tonight's Sickles-Gaither game? Follow the Tampa Bay Soccer Blog on twitter at twitter.com/tbsoccerblog for live updates, and other scores from select area games.

Colleges: Four locals among signees for University of Tampa women

2010-02-08T18:27:00.000-08:00

Four players from Pinellas County are in the University of Tampa Women’s incoming class for 2010 as the school unveiled the players it had signed on Monday evening.

Palm Harbor’s Ashlin Cook and Shannon Walisch and Seminole’s Megan Lawrence and Casey Merson all signed with the Spartans last week.

Spartans coach Gerry Lucey said in a press release that he was very happy with the caliber of player he was bringing into the program. All four local players will compete for their respective schools this week at the FHSAA Girl’s Soccer State Final Four at the University of Tampa’s Pepin Stadium

“I am really happy and excited to announce these NLI signees as part of our 2010 class,” Lucey said. “We have in addition three other incoming players (enrolled in the spring of 2010) that will help push our program forward and back into the national spotlight. I am delighted that we have secured their commitment and look forward to working with them this fall. We have an exciting future ahead of us and I hope that we can fulfill our own expectations. We will have great depth and individual talent again and should compete once more for conference, regional and national titles.”

The full class can be found here.

Fourth of July game highlights Rowdies' inaugural schedule

2010-02-08T13:10:00.000-08:00

A Fourth of July game at Steinbrenner Field against in-state rival FC Miami highlights the FC Tampa Bay Rowdies’ inaugural schedule, released by the U.S. Soccer Federation on Monday afternoon.

“That’s the one that stands out, isn’t it?” Rowdies head coach Paul Dalglish said. “I know it’s a tradition here to make a big deal of the Fourth of July game with the Rowdies, and we want to keep that going.”

The Rowdies will open and close the 30-game schedule against the same opponent, Crystal Palace Baltimore, with the Rowdies travelling to open the season on April 16, the second weekend of the season. The Rowdies will play their first regular season game at Steinbrenner Field on May 8 against the Austin Aztex.

“It’s going to be brilliant,” Dalglish said. “The first home game of our inaugural season is going to be exciting, and hopefully we can put some good performances in the first three games on the road and have people be excited to come and watch the team.”

Six of the Rowdies first nine games will be on the road, but the Rowdies will have a chance to make hay at home with a four-game stand at Steinbrenner Field coming in July and a three-game stand in August allowing for an opportunity to make a playoff push in front of home fans.

“The fact that we’ve got a lot of home games in the second half of the season is an advantage,” Dalglish said. “But it’s important we win the games in the other part of the season to build confidence going into these home games.”

Eight teams of the 12 will advance to the playoffs, with the top team in each conference gaining the No.1 or No.2 seed and the remaining six positions being determined by point. The playoffs will begin the week of October 4, with each round being contested over a home-and-home series, the winner being determined by total aggregate goals.

The league’s championship match will be contested the same way, instead of a single championship game.

Preps: Palm Harbor, Seminole advance, Newsome falls

2010-02-07T06:25:00.000-08:00

The Tampa Bay area will have four representitives at this weeks FHSAA Girls Soccer State Finals at the University of Tampa's Pepin Stadium after Palm Harbor University and Seminole both booked their places in the final four with victories on Saturday, joining Tampa Prep and Berkeley Prep.

The Hurricanes, currently the reigning 5A champions, needed to come from a goal down to force overtime, where Zoe Lombard scored the game-winning goal with just under two minutes left in the second overtime for a 2-1 victory against Apopka.

PHU, currently ranked No.10 in the nation by ESPN Rise, has won four state titles in its history, the first coming in 1999, and will look to continue its road to a fifth when it faces Miami Lourdes this Friday in the 6A semifinals.

Seminole, on the other hand, hasn't been to a final four since 1991, falling in the region finals each of the past two seasons. The Warhawks will now get the chance to win their first state championship under long-time coach Steve Kuplicki, first facing a semifinal against Lynn Haven Mosley after a 1-0 victory against Venice.

Newsome, though, won't be joining the Warhawks in the 5A semifinals after falling for the third straight season to Lakeland Jenkins in the region playoffs. ESPN Rise's No.3 team scored twice in the first half, and while the Wolves tried to rally, they were unable to come close enough to make the Eagles sweat out their 4-2 victory.

With both sides having good young players, as long as both schools stay in the same class, this could develop into a deep-seated rivalry, as Newsome and Freedom's girls teams had when they both opened at the same time. The Wolves will be back, and still be strong next season.

Preps: Terrapins, Buccaneers book final four places

2010-02-06T05:44:00.001-08:00

Tampa Prep is returning to the FHSAA Girls final four for the third straight season, and Berkeley Prep will be joining them, making its first appearance since 2005, after both sides won on Friday night in their respective region finals.

Tampa Prep got a little bit of luck, Mackenzie Logan's 59th minute goal coming somewhat fortuitously, but the Terrapins were outstanding defensively to defeat West Palm Beach King's Academy 1-0.

The Terrapins will face Maclay, 5-0 winners against Rocky Bayou Christian, in the state semifinals on Thursday. While Maclay has been impressive in its run to the final four, it will be important for the Terrapins to remember that King's Academy had the same resume coming into Friday night's game, and not get overawed by Maclay's scores.

Berkeley Prep certainly shouldn't have any jitters entering their state semifinal against Pensacola Catholic after a dominant display against Fort Myers Bishop Verot led to a 4-1 victory. Pensacola Catholic advanced in a penalty shootout after its game against Jacksonville Bolles ended 0-0 after overtime.

The Buccaneers girls have never won a state final four game, being eliminated in the semifinals in their three previous appearances. This season should be different, especially with U.S. Women's Under-17 goalkeeper Bryane Heaberlin returning after the sides training camp in Miami to what is already a powerful squad.

Hudson won't be joining the Terrapins and Buccaneers at Pepin stadium as the Cobras were unable to remove the hex Eustis has over them. For the third straight season, Eustis eliminated the Cobras from the region playoffs, this time in a 5-1 victory.

As was alluded to in the Berkeley Prep story, the remaining three region finals involving local teams were all postponed to Saturday, with Seminole facing Venice at 3 p.m. and Newsome facing Lakeland George Jenkins at 5 p.m. in Class 5A, and Palm Harbor University facing Apopka at 5 p.m. in Class 6A.

Preps: Newsome region final postponed to Saturday

2010-02-05T13:38:00.000-08:00

The Tampa Tribune's Jarrett Guthrie reports that the Class 5A-Region 2 final between Newsome and Lakeland George Jenkins scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday night has been postponed to 5 p.m. on Saturday due to torrential rain.

http://www.tboblogs.com/index.php/sports/story/newsomes-girls-soccer-region-final-postponed/

Rowdies sign former U.S. Under-20 captain Valentin

2010-02-05T13:35:00.000-08:00

TAMPA – The FC Tampa Bay Rowdies have announced the signing of former U.S. Under-20 international defender Julian Valentin, the 16th signing by the side as it prepares for its inaugural season, beginning in early April.

Valentin, a 2008 selection of the Los Angeles Galaxy in the MLS Superdraft, captained the United States at the 2007 U-20 World Cup in Canada, and was also a captain for the Under-17 and Under-18 teams prior to that.

“Julian is a natural leader on and off the field and has captained the U.S. at every level he has played at,” Rowdies coach Paul Dalglish said in a press release. “He will be a leader which is invaluable. This is another very exciting signing for the Rowdies as the start of our inaugural season nears."

Valentin played his college career for ACC power Wake Forest, starting in 59 games and scoring nine goals for the Demon Deacons in his college career.

Preps: Newsome, Berkeley, Tampa Prep take aim at final four

2010-02-05T07:27:00.000-08:00

The road to Tampa comes to an end tonight, with Newsome, Berkeley Prep and Tampa Prep all looking to reach the girls state final four at the University of Tampa's Pepin Stadium with victories in their respective region finals tonight.

The Tampa Tribune's Jarrett Guthrie takes a look at what all three sides will face on Friday night in this preview.

Defending Class 5A champion Palm Harbor University will look to continue its pursuit of a title in Class 6A when it travels to face Apopka, while Hudson will try to advance past perrenial foe Eustis. The Panthers have eliminated the Cobras in the past two seasons, both in one-goal games including a 4-3 victory in the region semifinals last season.

As another reminder, if you can't make it to West Palm Beach tonight for Tampa Prep's game against King's Academy, you can follow the Tampa Bay Soccer Blog at twitter.com/tbsoccerblog for live game updates from 6 p.m. tonight.

Preps: Panthers' stunning victory highlights region quarterfinals

2010-02-05T06:34:00.000-08:00

Plant's first boys region playoff victory since 2003 likely couldn't have come in more dramatic fashion.

The Panthers scored on what was probably their final attack of the game to equalize on a header by John Fernandez before Danny Johnson scored in the 97th minute to give his side a 2-1 victory against Countryside on Thursday night, setting off crazy scene's at Dad's Stadium, writes the St. Petersburg Times' Eduardo A. Encina.

Plant has had a remarkable second season under Coach Chris Carbon, but this victory is, at least on paper, its most impressive to date. Now the Panthers will hit the road to take on a Palm Harbor side that only advanced past Bloomingdale 1-0 in a penalty shootout.

While losing in a shootout is always disappointing, Bloomingdale looks like a team on the rise. The Bulls only lose five seniors from this year's team should the rest of the roster return, and will have the highly talented Tevin Gage returning for his senior season.

Speaking of penalty shootouts, Gaither managed to squeak through against Port Charlotte after goalkeeper John Nardozzi made a save in the first round of sudden-death for a 2-1 victory, David Briggs having scored on the prior kick for what proved to be the game-winner.

The Cowboys will now get a district final rematch with Sickles, which cruised to victory against Punta Gorda Charlotte 3-0. As the Times' John C. Cotey writes, the Gryphons throw-ins, provided predominantly by Ben Wiley on Thursday thanks to Tyler Deming's absence, were crucial to their advancement to the region semifinals for the first time in school history.

There will also be rematches in the other two local 5A semifinals as Newsome routed Brooksville Central 7-1 behind Steven Gonzalez's hat trick, and Plant City edged out Ocala Forest 2-1, although someone should probably mention that the Raiders first loss came in the Wharton Invitational to Hillsborough.

East Lake and Seminole will also face off again, both sides easing through to the region semifinals as the Eagles defeated Pinellas Park 5-0 and the Warhawks blasted Northeast 7-1.

In Class 4A, the "unofficial Pasco County Championship" game, so dubbed by Mitchell coach Oscar Ubillus, is on for Tuesday night as the Mustangs will face Land O' Lakes for a place in the region final. Mitchell defeated Wiregrass Ranch 5-1 on Thursday night, while the Gators defeated Wesley Chapel 3-0.

Jesuit also moved on, but had to survive a late rally by Lakewood Ranch to hold on for a 3-2 victory. The Tigers will need to be better against a Palmetto team that romped past Steinbrenner 5-0 in Tuesday's region semifinal.

Berkeley Prep and Clearwater Central Catholic will face off again for a place in the Class 3A-Region 3 final, the Buccaneers cruising to a 5-0 victory against Frostproof, while the Marauders got two late first half goals to advance past Mulberry 2-0.

Tampa Prep will also face a rematch against Indian Rocks Christian after Anthony Baumann (four assists) and Wes Sever (four goals) allowed the Terrapins to cruise past Bradenton St. Stephen's 6-0. IRC advanced with a 3-0 victory against Out-of-Door Academy thanks to Cody Sitton's hat trick, but Seffner Christian's run came to an end with a 4-0 defeat at Florida Air.

Preps: Confidence key for Terrapins in Region Final

2010-02-04T21:16:00.000-08:00

TAMPA – Tampa Prep's girls are hoping the biggest thing to come out of their Class 2A-Region 3 semifinal victory against Bradenton St. Stephen’s on Tuesday evening will manifest itself on Friday night as the Terrapins try to return to the state final four for the third successive season.

That thing? Confidence.

For a while, the Terrapins were a side somewhat lacking in self-belief. After putting aside some early jitters again on Tuesday, though, Coach Cindy Schofield believes the side is now ready to face the challenge West Palm Beach King’s Academy will pose them in the region final at 6 p.m.

“I think beating St. Stephen’s was a huge confidence-booster because we hadn’t really had any big wins on the year yet, so that was a big win for us,” Schofield said before the Terrapins drove south on Thursday evening. “Now we believe in ourselves, we believe in the team and we believe we’re going to win against anybody.”

Terrapins captain Jackie Rosenthal pointed to the youth on the side, with a number of sophomores playing key roles, as part of the reason for the dips in confidence the side has had.

“We’ve been playing against a lot of very hard teams, and we’ve been battling, so I don’t think everyone believes in ourselves as much as they should,” Rosenthal said. “I think the St. Stephen’s game taught us that we are capable of winning, and if we come together and we relax and we play to feet we can do it.”

Rosenthal’s return to the side for the past three games, the first the Terrapins win in the district final, has certainly provided a boost. After suffering a slight tear in her left meniscus, Rosenthal made the decision to return to the field to help her team any way she could. Schofield said as much as the Terrapins needed her abilities in the center of midfield, they needed Rosenthal’s vocal leadership on the field more.

“Her leadership role on the field was what we missed the most,” Schofield said. “She’s just our vocal leader on the field, when things are down she picks the girls up. Obviously then we can move Amber (Miller) back into defense, and it makes our backline a lot stronger, because Amber kind of slid into that center-mid role to cover for Jackie, so moving Amber back, our back four plus (goalkeeper) Jordan (Hatton) is awesome.”

Hatton has also been a pivotal player for the Terrapins. One of only three seniors on the side this season, Hatton’s leadership has come to the fore. The standout goalkeeper attributes that to the example she was set as a young player in the Terrapins’ program.

“Having those girls when I was younger above you as someone to look up to, I think it helped a lot,” Hatton said. “As I’ve gotten older, now that I’m a senior, I want to win more and I think I know what it takes. I know that I need to be the person the set the pace, to say that we need to step it up or we need to do better and just take control.”

Taking control early is exactly what the Terrapins will need to do against a King’s Academy side that has posted a pair of impressive victories to reach Friday’s region final. Schofield, though, believes her side is up to the task.

“We’ve been working on building their confidence week-in and week-out and practice and just making them believe in themselves, and they do,” Schofield said. “They’re ready.”

Can’t get to West Palm Beach for Tampa Prep’s region final? Follow the Tampa Bay Soccer Blog at twitter.com/tbsoccerblog for live game updates from 6 p.m. on Friday night.

South Florida's Aristeguieta named Big East Scholar-Athlete of the Year

2010-02-04T09:46:00.000-08:00

South Florida’s Francisco Aristeguieta has become the second consecutive Bull to be named the Big East Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year, following in the footsteps of teammate Zak Boggs, the 2008-09 winner of the award.

Aristeguieta will receive a $4,000 scholarship that can be applied to graduate or professional studies.

"I think that this is a reflection of a lot of hard work, because that is the mentality that is instilled in us here at USF," Aristeguieta said in a school press release. "Our advisors and our coaches are always telling us to work as hard as we possibly can. I am honored to receive the award, and equally as honored to represent the school in earning this award."

Aristeguieta was a captain for the Bulls for the past two seasons, starting 20 games in 2009 principally as a central midfielder and recording three assists. Bulls coach George Keifer said he was very proud of Aristeguieta having won the award.

"This is a tremendous honor," Kiefer said. "While this is the second year in a row for a member of our program to win this award, I think that the main focus is on Francisco winning it. He has served as a two-year captain for our program and has really been a leader, and for him to be picked for this award from all the great student-athletes in the Big East shows a lot about him and his character. I think that is why he has been such a great captain that past two years."

This is only the second time in the award’s history that it has been awarded to members of the same school, with Villanova having won the award in three straight years from 1987-89.

Preps; Region quarterfinals preview; Freedom's Hinkle steps down

2010-02-04T08:36:00.000-08:00

With the five classes pared down their respective 32 teams after last week's district tournaments, the boys region tournaments get underway tonight across the bay area.

Here's my look at the match-ups involving Hillsborough County schools from this morning's Tampa Tribune, while the Tribune's Mike Camunas previews the two match-ups in Pasco County here.

In other prep news, Freedom girls coach Chris Hinkle has decided to step down after four seasons leading the Patriots program. Personally, I will miss Coach Hinkle on the prep beat. I thought he did an excellent job with the Patriots, leading them to a dominant victory in the district tournament this season, and hope he stays involved with Fusion FC in the club game.

Preps: South Florida beckons for four Chargers

2010-02-04T08:11:00.000-08:00

CLEARWATER – As was the case at signing ceremonies across the area, and likely the country on Wednesday, the excitement level at the Safety Harbor Resort and Spa was high.

“This is just a great feeling,” Berkeley Prep’s T.J. Roehn said. “I’ve been dreaming about this for a while, so it’s just awesome.”

Roehn was one of 27 Clearwater Chargers who signed with their respective colleges on Wednesday night. With another two of the clubs’ players already enrolled at the schools of their choice, it was the largest class the Chargers program has ever produced.

In amongst those were four players, including Roehn, who will continue their careers in Tampa at the University of South Florida. Joining Roehn were his Under-18 Academy teammates Ben Sweat (Palm Harbor), Javon Bostic (East Lake) and Shane Wixted (Seminole). Wixted shared Roehn’s excitement at the opportunity to continue his career as a Bull.

“It means a lot to me,” Wixted said. “I’ve worked hard for this my whole life since I was 4 years old, and now I’ve going to get to accomplish my dream.”

All of the players gave credit to the Chargers’ Academy program for helping them get this far. Other members of the team that signed on Wednesday included Tampa Prep’s Wes Sever (George Mason) and Anthony Baumann (Providence), Mitchell’s Max Rockwell (Southern Methodist) and Berkeley Prep’s Michael Attal (Columbia). Established three years ago, the elevated level of play and practice the Chargers get from the U.S. Soccer Federation Development Academy League has helped the players, as has the exposure they get from being part of the USSF Academy set-up.

“The Chargers have done so many things for me, not just as a player but as a person,” Wixted said. “Just playing-wise, I’ve become such a better player because they have great coaches there.”

South Florida recruiting local players strongly is nothing new. Wharton’s Ogi Perucica is part of the Bulls outgoing senior class, and players like goalkeeper Jeff Attinella from Countryside, who was named a First Team All-American last December, Fernando Gonzalez of Gaither and Sebastian Thuriere of Seminole have become fixtures in the Bulls starting XI.

For this many players from one club to be going to the same school together, though, is somewhat unprecedented. Chargers Academy coach Garth Pollonais said he believes the Bulls are making an even stronger effort than in the past to recruit the best of the local talent.

“I think USF realized we have a lot of talent in our own backyard,” Pollonais said. “So even though they will still get foreign players, they know there’s a crop of players in their backyard, so they took a close look at the crop of players in their backyard and realized, ‘hey, we’ve got some players who could come in and really make an impact for our program, and we don’t have to go all over the country to find them.’ So fortunately for us, they got four of them.”

Ben Sweat was the first of the quartet to commit, closely followed by Roehn and Bostic before Wixted decommitted from Providence to also become a Bull. But while players often factor in the decisions of their teammates, all the Chargers players said their teammates’ decisions weren’t that big a factor in their decision, Bostic saying he had his sights set on being a Bull from the moment he arrived from Arizona four years ago.

“I went to a summer camp there, and I just fell in love with the place,” Bostic said. “I got lots of offers, but as soon as USF offered me, I was hooked and I committed right away.”

That said, all four players are glad they will have friends on the team when they enroll with South Florida in the fall as they look forward to the chance to continue their careers together.

“It’s a really good feeling,” Sweat said. “It’s just a dream. Big East school, top 5 in the country, it’s a dream come true.”

NASL Interim Commissioner Jeff Cooper Q&A

2010-02-03T14:47:00.000-08:00

Pitch Invasion, an excellent soccer website, has posted a Q&A with the NASL's Interim Commisioner Jeff Cooper, where he speaks about MLS, the WPS and the NASL/USSF Second Division.

Nothing too much in regard to the Rowdies in here, but it is an interesting interview with a man whose influence in North American soccer has grown considerably in the past few years.

Preps: Hurricanes advance, defeat Panthers; Wolves, Buccaneers, Terrapins all into region finals

2010-02-03T06:15:00.000-08:00

Defending Class 5A champion Palm Harbor University continued its bid for a second straight state title, this time in Class 6A, with an impressive 2-0 victory against Plant.

But, as I wrote for the Tampa Tribune this morning, the Panthers were disappointed not to have played to the level that had for the rest of the season.

Don't take anything away from the Hurricanes performance, though. Forwards Catherine Brinkman and Kelly Phipps were a constant thorn in the Panthers' side, illustrating perfectly how a side can control a game when every member of the team from the front back is committed to defending strongly, Colleen Lynch and Anja Decker also doing an excellent job in midfield.

The Hurricanes will now travel to face Apopka, which advanced to the first region final with a 3-1 victory against Palm Bay.

Newsome will again get to face Lakeland George Jenkins for a place in the Class 5A final four after the Wolves defeated district rival East Bay 3-1. Tribune girls correspondent Jarrett Guthrie was at the game, and filed this story.

Jenkins, on the other hand, got a slightly tougher game than the last time they faced Winter Haven, advancing 4-1. Friday's meeting in Lakeland will be the fourth consecutive season the Wolves and Eagles will have met in the playoffs, Newsome winning the first meeting in 2007 before the Eagles took the last two meetings, including a 1-0 overtime victory last season.

Freedom wasn't able to join Newsome in the region final, a 5-1 defeat to a powerful Venice squad ending the Patriots season. Freedom coach Chris Hinkle was highly impressed with the Indians performance, according to the St. Petersburg Times' Joey Knight.

Venice will now host another bay area team, Seminole, which had Jordyn Turner to thank for its 2-1 victory against East Lake.

In Class 4A, Steinbrenner's undefeated season came to an end at the hands of Lakewood Ranch. The Times' Eduardo A. Encina saw the 2-1 Lakewood Ranch victory.

While the Warriors' remarkable run came to an end, Hudson's continued on with a 4-3 victory against River Ridge. Tribune correspondent Mike Camunas saw the Cobras rally back from a 3-1 deficit to advance to the first region final in school history.

The Cobras will now face Eustis in the region final hoping that the third time will be the charm. Eustis has eliminated Hudson from the players for the past two seasons.

Berkeley Prep advanced to face Fort Myers Bishop Verot in Class 3A, but the 4-1 final score didn't indicate how close most of the game was, according to The Times' Keith Niebuhr.

And finally, Tampa Prep advanced to the Class 2A-Region 3 final with a 3-1 victory against Bradenton St. Stephen's, fighting off some early game nerves before Isabel Dalence and Caroline Cheek found the net to send the Terrapins through to face West Palm Beach King's Academy on Friday.

Preps: Sickles, East Lake each move up one in ESPN Poll

2010-02-02T12:18:00.000-08:00

Sickles moved up one spot to No.16 in the latest ESPN Rise Boys Fab 50 when the new rankings were released on Tuesday afternoon.

The Gryphons host Punta Gorda Charlotte on Thursday in the Class 5A-Region 3 quarterfinals, and should they reach the region final could face a showdown with No.25 East Lake, which also rose one spot. The Eagles face Pinellas Park on Thursday.

In the girls poll, Palm Harbor University remained No.10 in the nation ahead of the Hurricanes match-up with Plant tonight in the Class 6A-Region 2 semifinals.

Preps: Sickles retains top spot in final Hillsborough Poll

2010-02-01T13:47:00.000-08:00

Sickles retained the top spot in the final Hillsborough Boys Coaches Poll of the season after its penalty shootout victory in the Class 5A-District 9 final against No.3 Gaither on Friday night.

The Gryphons will face Punta Gorda Charlotte on Thursday in the region quarterfinals of the Class 5A state tournament, and could face a rematch with the Cowboys in the semifinals should Gaither defeat Port Charlotte.

Jumping up five places to No.2 was Jesuit, the Class 4A-9 champions, while 5A-8 champions Newsome and 2A-9 champions Tampa Prep rounded out the top five.

Plant City dropped from the No.2 slot to No.6 after its loss to Newsome in the 5A-8 final, while Berkeley Prep re-entered the poll at No.7 and 6A-8 champion Plant earned the No.8 spot.

The full poll can be found below.

1. Sickles (21-1-3)
2. Jesuit (17-4-3)
3. Gaither (15-4-1)
4. Newsome (15-4-3)
5. Tampa Prep (14-4-2)
6. Plant City (13-2-2)
7. Berkeley Prep (10-8-3)
8. Plant (10-7-1)
9. Tampa Catholic (11-3-5)
10. East Bay (13-3-1)

Preps: Berkeley's Roehn cleared to play Thursday

2010-02-01T09:19:00.001-08:00

Berkeley Prep standout T.J. Roehn said on Monday he has been cleared to play for the Buccaneers in Thursday’s Class 3A-Region 3 quarterfinal against Frostproof after his second appeal to the FHSAA was successful in reducing his suspension from three weeks to just two.

Roehn was issued a red card against Lakeland George Jenkins for profane language after an altercation with one of the Eagles defenders. While suspended, he missed the Buccaneers final regular season game against Jesuit and last week’s Class 3A-District 10 tournament.

Roehn said he was thrilled by the decision which will allow him the opportunity to play with his Buccaneer teammates again.

“When I got the red card at the George Jenkins game the first thing that came into my mind was, ‘wow, I could be out for the rest of the season,’ “ Roehn said. “I’m lucky I got it removed … I feel like my season was almost over, but now I have a chance to not only make it back to states with the team, but break the record as well.”

Roehn, who will sign with South Florida on Wednesday, currently has 101 goals for the Buccaneers, four short of Tyler Davis’ school record.

Yamada becomes latest signing for Rowdies

2010-02-01T08:37:00.000-08:00

The FC Tampa Bay Rowdies have announced the signing of Japanese international midfielder Takuya Yamada, a veteran of the Japanese J-League.

Yamada, who has made four appearances for his country, said in a press release that he was very happy to have become a member of the club.

“I am happy that I am playing in the United States and with FC Tampa Bay who truly loves the sport and respects its athletes,” Yamada said.

Yamada began his career in 1997 with Tokyo Verdy, for which he made 296 appearances and scored 28 goals. Yamada also served as the team’s captain for three seasons. The 35-year-old has also played domestically for Cerezo Osaka, Yokahama FC and Sagan Tosu, and was impressive during the Rowdies final combine in Tampa held last month.

“We are ecstatic to secure Takuya Yamada for our inaugural team,” Rowdies Owner and President Andrew Nestor said. “Takuya is an icon in the game and he will bring depth, leadership and passion to our team.”

With the signing of Chinese player Long Tan on Sunday, this now give the Rowdies five of their seven allowed international players, and 15 players under contract for their inaugural season scheduled to begin in early April.

Long Tan latest signing by FC Tampa Bay

2010-01-31T13:34:00.000-08:00

FC Tampa Bay Owner and President Andrew Nestor has confirmed that the club has signed 21-year-old Chinese forward Long Tan.

According to an online report, Tan had taken part in open tryouts for MLS’s Philadelphia Union, but did not get called back after the first round of workouts.

Tan played last summer for the USL’s Atlanta Blackhawks in the Premier Development League, scoring seven goals in 12 games for the club. He had previously played for Shanghai’s Pudong Zobon in the Chinese First Division, and according to the Blackhawks website, scored six goals in 16 games for the club in the 2008.

Preps: Sickles leads way on Wharton Invitational All-Tournament team

2010-01-29T08:11:00.000-08:00

Sickles led the way with three players named to the Wharton Invitational All-Tournament team, defender Gil Davis and midfielders Matt Brown and Boris Simeunovic all being named when the list was released on Friday.

Brown scored both goals in the Gryphons 2-0 semifinal victory against King, and added an assist in the final against East Bay, while Davis led a defense that conceded only one goal in five games over the tournament.

Finalist East Bay and King each had a pair of players named, David Castillo and Miguel Cerveleon being honored for the Indians and Jacob Baker and Christopher Lewis honored for the Lions.

The full team is listed below:

Keenan Kushner, Wharton
Gil Davis, Sickles
Jacob Baker, King
Christopher Lewis, King
David Castillo, East Bay
Boris Simeunovic, Sickles
Joey Perfetto, Newsome
Matt Brown, Sickles
Miguel Cerveleon, East Bay
Kofi Forkuoh, Hillsborough
Esgar Montelongo, Plant City

Preps: Plant shakes region hex, will face Palm Harbor

2010-01-29T04:49:00.000-08:00

It took overtime, but Plant's run of disappointment in the region playoffs is over.

The Panthers girls advanced to the Class 6A-Region 2 semifinals last night, a header by Amy Werdine in overtime from and Ellen Moore corner kick giving them a 1-0 victory against. Countryside.

The St. Petersburg Times' Eduardo A. Encina was at the game, with both Werdine and Plant coach Steve McGill expressing their relief at finally making it through.

The Panthers' opponent on Tuesday, Palm Harbor University, also needed overtime to get past Bloomingdale, Catherine Brinkman giving the Hurricanes victory. The Times' Bryan Burns writes that the Hurricanes thought they got their toughest test this season from the Bulls.

Not every game was as thrilling as the area's two 6A quarterfinals. Newsome, for example, trounced Ocala Forest 7-0 as Liz Haumschild had a pair of goals and three assists for the Wolves in Class 5A-Region 2. The Wolves will get a rematch with district rival East Bay in the semifinals, Delaney Poli scoring the only goal in a 1-0 victory against Springstead.

Freedom had as little trouble advancing into the Class 5A-Region 3 semifinals as they had winning the district title last Friday, The Times' Joey Knight writes, dispatching Manatee 5-0. The Patriots will now face Venice, who were held at bay for a half by Hillsborough goalkeeper Amber Davis before earning a 4-1 victory behind Kelly White's second half hat trick.

In the other half of that region, East Lake and Seminole will again face off after the Eagles defeated Largo 1-0 and the Warhawks routed Northeast 9-0.

Steinbrenner remained undefeated, but was made to work for its 4-2 win against Palmetto after the Tigers rallied back from a 3-0 deficit before CiCi Gonzalez put the game away with her 30th goal of the season, writes The Times' John C. Cotey. The Warriors will face another undefeated side in the region semifinals, as Lakewood Ranch blasted Robinson 9-1.

There were another pair of routs in Class 3A-Region 3 as Berkeley Prep needed just one half to defeat Frostproof 8-0, while Clearwater Central Catholic set up a district final rematch with a 9-1 win on the road at Lakeland McKeel.

Colby Maffei recorded another hat trick, giving her 44 goals for the season, as the Terrapins defeated Shorecrest Prep 3-0. The Terrapins will face Bradenton St. Stephen's in the semifinals after the Falcons defeated Indian Rocks Christian 5-1. St. Stephen's won 2-1 when the two sides met in the regular season.

A look at the Rowdies new signings

2010-01-28T17:44:00.001-08:00

Not familiar with some of the names announced by the FC Tampa Bay Rowdies at their press conference on Wednesday? Here’s a look at the 13 players signed so far by the Rowdies.

Jason Beardsley, defender – The 20-year-old Englishman is a product of the Derby County youth system, but saw more playing time for Notts County, where he spent the 2008-09 season on loan, making 11 appearances in the league two in the League Cup.

Jeremy Christie, midfielder – An experienced international, Christie has made 20 appearances for the New Zealand national team, and is expected to be named to the country’s World Cup squad. Previously a captain of the New Zealand Under-17 team, Christie began his professional career in England with Barnsley. He then returned home to play in New Zealand, playing for two stints with the Australian A-League’s Wellington Phoenix in addition to a spell with the Perth Glory.

Adam Nowland, midfielder – Nowland made his professional debut aged 17 for Blackpool, and since then the 28-year-old has played for a number of English clubs. The most prominent of those was West Ham, with whom he spent just under a year before a 250,000 pound transfer to Nottingham Forest. He returned to Blackpool last summer on a non-contract basis, but was not retained by the club.

Kwame Adjeman-Pamboe, forward – A former second-round pick of the Colorado Rapids in 2008, the former George Mason standout most recently played for FC Viikingit in the Finnish First Division where he scored four goals in nine games. With the Patriots, he scored nine goals and added seven assists in his senior season, earning All-Colonial Athletic Association First Team honors.

Dwight Barnett, forward – A third-round pick of the Chicago Fire in the 2008 draft, Barnett had a goal and two assists for the Montreal Impact in the USL First Division in 2008. He also previously played for the USL PDL’s Cape Cod Crusaders while in college, scoring 24 goals in 34 games for the club that as the Portland Phoenix will be a reserve team for the Rowdies.

Scott Buete, defender – A University of Maryland grad, Buete has experience at the MLS and USL Division 1 level, playing last season for the Charleston Battery where he scored three goals in 28 appearances. Buete began his career with the Chicago Fire, spending two seasons there, before signing with USL-1’s Atlanta Silverbacks for the 2006 season. Buete has also played in the MISL, since 2007 with the Baltimore Blast.

Yendry Diaz, defender – A former Cuban under-23 international, Diaz is maybe best known for his defection in Tampa during the 2008 North American Olympic Qualifying Tournament. The 22-year-old Diaz played last year for the Real Maryland Monarchs in the USL Division 2, making 10 appearances.

Joe Donoho, defender – A Tampa native, Donoho was the Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year in 2007 while at Bradley. At 6-foot-3, Donoho was a strong presence at center back in both of the Rowdies’ Tampa combines. A graduate of Jesuit, Donoho actually chose to play basketball for the Tigers, developing his soccer skills with the Tampa Kickers club (now RSL Florida).

Mozesh Gyorio, midfielder – A former Canadian under-20 international, Gyorio was born in Backatopola, Serbia before his parents moved to Prince Edward Island, Canada. Professionally, Gyorio previously spent time in Holland with NEC Nijmegan.

Aaron King, forward – A 2005 NSCAA Second-team All-American, the bulk of King’s professional career has been with the USL-1 Charleston Battery, with whom he scored 11 goals in 51 games over the 2007-08 seasons. After moving to the Carolina Railhawks for the 2009 season, King scored three goals in five games after a free transfer to Miami FC last season.

Pascal Milien, forward – A two-time Division II All-American at the University of Tampa, Milien led the Spartans with 12 goals and seven assists in 21 games as a senior. A native of Haiti, Milien moved to Auburndale when he was 15 and led the Bloodhounds to a state title in 2005.

John Raus, midfielder – A right-winger, Raus led Seton Hall with nine goals and eight assists in his senior season before beginning his professional career with Poland’s LKS Lomza, a second division side. More recently, Raus played for Fisher Athletic, a Blue Square South side in England, where he had six goals in 28 appearances.

Graham Tatters, defender – A native of Scotland, Tatters played college soccer for the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, redshirting his sophomore year when he was diagnosed with lymphoma before making a full recovery, detailed here by the Wilmington Star News. He turned professional last year with the Wilmington Hammerheads of the USL Second Division, making 13 appearances.

Preps: Heaberlin's absence doesn't faze Berkeley girls

2010-01-28T09:05:00.000-08:00

TAMPA – For some teams , losing a U.S. Under-17 International at what may be the most critical position on the field would be a devastating blow.

But Berkeley Prep’s girls soccer team is undaunted by the absence of Bryane Heaberlin, who is in Miami to train with the national team, because in back-up Morgan Orobello they feel they have a goalkeeper who is more than up to the task of helping them get to the state final four.

“Morgan was with us last year, and played five games for us,” Buccaneers coach Ken Roberts said. “And four of them were ranked teams. This year, she played three matches, and it was St. Pete Catholic, a 1-0 win, and Tampa Prep the first time around, a 1-0 win, so Morgan has the ability to keep us in a game just as much as Bryane does.”

The Buccaneers open the Class 3A-Region 3 tournament tonight against Frostproof at 7 p.m., and while Orobello said she was a little nervous after Wednesday’s practice, she believes she can get the job done for the side.

“I feel like (my teammates) think I can do it,” Orobello said. “I feel like I know I can do it.”

Of course, having players like sweeper N.D. Ubezonu, and defenders Taylor Richardson, Anne Kelly and Brooke Banning in front of her won’t hurt, Roberts adding that the side wouldn’t change anything as far as their approach to the game.

“We still expect to play the ball back to (Orobello’s) feet, she’s strong with her feet,” Roberts said. “We’ll keep everything status quo. We’re more worried in going into the playoff games about us, about how we play and playing our style than we are about what our opponents are going to do. If anybody thinks they’re going to get an opportunity on her, they’ve got to get by the whole team before they get to her.

“It’s a team game. It’s a team game on defense just like it’s a team game on offense. One kid doesn’t do it all, and one kid can’t do it all once you get to this point in the season.”

Rowdies Stadium to be built downtown?

2010-01-28T07:46:00.001-08:00

Veteran Tampa Tribune and now TBO.com columnist Tom McEwan got some very interesting comments from FC Tampa Bay Rowdies owner David Laxer, who also owns the renowned Berns Steak House, in regard to the club's stadium plans in this piece.

McEwan quotes Laxer directly, the crucial part bolded for your reading pleasure:

“We are working closely with Hal and Hank Steinbrenner, sons of the Yankee owner, and Felix Lopez, Steinbrenner’s son-in-law. We think the setup will be wonderful and after a couple of seasons, we will move to a new facility to be built near the University of Tampa, in downtown Tampa. This is truly exciting,” said Laxer.

As tight-lipped as Andrew Nestor and all concerned with the Rowdies have been so far, this may be as big a revelation as you could hope for. What do you guys think of this idea?

Preps: Roehn's first appeal of suspension denied, but process not over yet

2010-01-27T21:43:00.000-08:00

Berkeley Prep standout T.J. Roehn has had his appeal of a three-week suspension for a red card against Lakeland George Jenkins denied by the FHSAA, but Roehn said late on Wednesday night that the appeals process was not over, and there was a chance he would be able to return in time for next week’s Class 3A-Region 3 tournament quarterfinals.

“There is a second level of appeal, and that’s what we’re trying to do,” Roehn said. “We’re still working on it, it’s not over for sure yet.”

The second appeal should happen early next week ahead of Thursday’s region quarterfinals. The Buccaneers defeated St. Petersburg Catholic 9-1 in the Class 3A-10 tournament semifinals on Wednesday to earn a berth in the region tournament.

Roehn said he and fellow captains Jake Felman and Jordan Tannenbaum talked to the team before the game and emphasized the belief that the team was good enough without Roehn to still succeed.

“We basically just sat them down and talked to them, just told them how everything was on the line and how we could do it without me,” Roehn said. “I’ve heard talk around school and other people saying it wouldn’t be the same without me, but I told them that, and it brought them up, and they all stepped up, especially Theo (Wells), he had four goals tonight. I know they can do it without me, they just have to go for it.”

Should Roehn’s second appeal fail he would still become available if the Buccaneers were to reach the region final. Berkeley will face Clearwater Central Catholic for the district title on Friday night.

Milien thrilled to be staying in Tampa

2010-01-27T20:30:00.000-08:00

TAMPA – It’s hard to wipe the smile off Pascal Milien’s face at the best of times, but there was no chance of it happening as he was one of three players introduced by FC Tampa Bay Rowdies at Steinbrenner Field on Wednesday afternoon.

For the University of Tampa All-American, the opportunity to stay in Tampa to begin his professional career was one that left him overjoyed.

“I can’t ask for better,” Milien said. “This is a dream come true for me after all these years I’ve been pushing myself since high school, through college, thank God I finally have a chance to play in my hometown.”

Milien was joined by Jesuit graduate Joe Donoho, who had a stellar college career at Rutgers and Bradley. The Tampa native grew up a New York Yankees fan, and was looking forward to playing on the same field he had attended spring training games at growing up.

“It’s awesome,” Donoho said. “To be here to get a chance to do this, it really is a blessing.”

While the Rowdies said since the beginning of their search for players that they wanted to try and sign players with ties to the Tampa Bay area, Owner and President Andrew Nestor said that the main reason why the club had targeted Milien and Donoho was because of their playing ability.

“You always want to have local players,” Nestor said. “It helps the fan base, it helps develop future talent because local kids have something to look up to, but at the same time they have to be quality, and I think we’re pretty lucky to be in a market where you have local talent that is truly good enough to play at this level, and these two guys have shown that.”

Donoho and the third player introduced on Wednesday, Yendry Diaz, could make a strong central defensive pairing for the team in its inaugural season. Head coach Paul Dalglish said he couldn’t wait to see what his new players would be able to accomplish in the upcoming season.

“We’ve worked tirelessly to bring in the best players,” Dalglish said. “We’ve had a lot of combines to try and find talent, and three of the guys you saw today have been at the top of the pile when it comes to the talent we’ve been looking for. As some of the names you’ve seen, and some of the names you’ll hear about in the future are going to be very exciting names as well, and there’s going to be a lot of disappointed people who wanted to play in Tampa, but that’s a good thing for us because it means the standard is very high.”

Steinbrenner Field to be Rowdies first home; Milien, Donoho among signees

2010-01-27T13:15:00.000-08:00

TAMPA – Steinbrenner Field will be the first home of the FC Tampa Bay Rowdies when they play their inaugural season in the United States Soccer Federation Second Division, with a home opener planned for early May.

Standing inside the club’s new home Rowdies Owner and President Andrew Nestor said he was excited everything was starting to come together for the franchise.

“It’s very exciting,” Nestor said. “It’s been a long year-and-a-half, restructuring, relaunching a league, building an entire organization from scratch, putting together not just and organization but a winning team that we feel will compete for a championship in our first year. To be able to announce that we’re going to play in such a great venue and really start to look forward is very exciting.”

While the Rowdies were effusive in their praise of their new home, they will still be looking to build a soccer-specific stadium which will become their permanent home. Plans for that are still in progress, though, with Nestor not willing to say where the stadium might be built.

As for the upcoming season, the league’s schedule is expected to be announced early next week according to the USSF, with the opening weekend currently schedule for April 10. When the team does get to host its home opener, the playing surface will be stripped across the outfield and over a portion of the infield around first base. While that will mean part of the surface will be infield dirt, Rowdies head coach Paul Dalglish wasn’t concerned about that detail.

“No concern whatsoever,” Dalglish said. “I think it’s a small price to pay for the standard of the grass that we’ve got. As you can see, it’s absolutely immaculate. There’s no team going to play on better grass this year and that’s for sure, and if there’s a little bit of dirt in the corner, it’s a small price to pay.”

Also introduced were three of the players who will be part of the Rowdies return, University of Tampa All-American Pascal Milien, former Jesuit graduate Joe Donoho and Yendry Diaz, who was one of the Cuban players who defected when the North American Olympic qualifying tournament was held in Tampa two years ago.

Others that have been signed include Kwame Adjeman-Pamboe, a former first round pick of MLS’s Colorado Rapids, and Dwight Barnett, who impressed at the Rowdies third combine in Tampa earlier this month. Dalglish echoed Nestor’s sentiment that the team would be shooting high in its first season.

“As Andrew said, we’re a new organization, but we want to be competitive from the very first day,” Dalglish said. “We’re coming out this year to win the championship. That’s out goal, we’re going to compete and win the championship. Is it a tough ask? Of course it is, but you’ve got to aim high, and that’s what we aim to do. We’ve got the players to do it, we’ve got the organization to do it, we’ve got the facility to do it, we just need a little bit of luck along the way, and we should be able to do it.”

Still to be announced is the location of the training facility, and a few more signings and the announcement of preseason games. With training camp opening on March 1, Nestor said he expects there to be five or six preseason games, with the opener likely at Pepin Stadium against the University of Tampa.

Currently the side has 13 players under contract, with Nestor saying another two deals were close to completion. Dalglish said he expected the side would carry a roster of 21 players.

As for what he would feel when the Rowdies run out onto Steinbrenner field for the first time, Nestor said it would likely be an emotional moment for him and the rest of the Rowdies owners and staff.

“I’d imagine it would be pretty emotional,” Nestor said. “It’s been a lot of hard work from a lot of dedicated people to make it happen.”

Preps: Wolves defeat Cougars, advance to first district final

2010-01-26T20:41:00.000-08:00

PLANT CITY – Newsome advanced to its first district final, and in turn its first region tournament appearance, as a dominant opening 20 minutes paved the way for a 3-1 victory against host Durant in the Class 5A-Region 8 semifinals on Tuesday night.

“This is the furthest we’ve ever gone,” Matt Staggs said. “It’s nice to be the best team in Newsome history.”

Staggs gave the Wolves the lead in the ninth minute. After winning a free kick close to the goal line on the right side of the penalty area, Staggs and Skylar Wilks worked a practice-field move to perfection, with Staggs dummying a cross before peeling off to the left. Wilks then slid a pass to Staggs, who hadn’t been picked up 15 yards from the goal. He fired a shot into the top left corner of the net.

“It was perfect, upper 90,” Staggs said. “Skylar and I knew we were going to do that play if we had the chance. We had the opportunity the last game, but they covered us, so it was a good goal.”

The Wolves added to the lead with two goals in four minutes, one on a cross-field pass in the 15th minute from Steven Gonzalez to Armani Alicea, whose low shot found the left corner. Harold Gussman added a third in similar fashion, with a shot just inside the left post.

“We respect Connor (Bass') height, you can’t beat him in the air, so you have to go low,” Newsome coach Neal Rickmers said. “It’s not the pace of the ball, it’s just the placement and the pace to actually put it in.”

While Newsome (14-4-3) opened the game strongly, Durant (9-5-4) faltered, giving up possession cheaply as the Cougars were unable to find the rhythm Coach Jamin Hollingsworth had been looking for.

“Newsome did everything we talked about doing in the first half,” Hollingsworth said. “You have to give them credit, the first goal, you can’t stop it, and I guess they got us rattled or nervous or however you want to put it, and we didn’t recover from that, and then the next two were unfortunate.”

The Cougars played better in the second half, but were unable to take their opportunities when they arose. Leading scorer Billy Fanning had difficulty finding his range for most of the night, finally scoring in the 78th minute, while Andres Plata had a good chance to pull a goal back early in the second half, only to fire over the crossbar.

Newsome also remained dangerous, Gonzalez’s curling free kick from the left forcing a good save from Bass and Mark Calhoun having his header off a corner from the right cleared off the line by Durant’s Ben Salazar.

Now the Wolves will face Plant City, a side they drew with 3-3 in the regular season. Rickmers said he thought his side would need to show the energy they had to start Tuesday’s game for the full 80 minutes if the Wolves were to win their first district title.

“To beat Plant City, you’re going to have to go the whole game,” Rickmers said. “For us, we need to get three and keep going, otherwise it’s going to be a tough battle.”

Preps: Raiders not at their best, but advance past Indians

2010-01-26T20:14:00.000-08:00

PLANT CITY – Plant City wasn’t at its absolute best, but the Raiders' clinical finishing, in contrast to opponent East Bay’s, was enough to send them through to the Class 5A-District 8 tournament final with a 3-1 victory at Durant High on Tuesday evening.

The Raiders (13-1-2) opened the scoring early, A.J. Black giving his side the lead. Esgar Montelongo almost doubled the lead later in the first half, his first close-range effort being well-saved by East Bay goalkeeper Derrick Miranda, the rebound being headed off the line by a covering defender.

Jorge Martinez did make the score 2-0 five minutes before half time, cutting in from the left side to curl a shot into the right corner of the net from the top of the penalty area. Raiders coach Stephen Rossiter was very pleased with his side’s finishing.

“That’s how we’ve done it all year, and that’s just the good chemistry with this team,” Rossiter said. “They just know how to read each other on the diagonal, and they’ve worked well on the finishing side.”

On the other hand, the Indians' finishing was disappointing. While they were able to gain good possession, especially in the second half as the Raiders' passing became a little sloppy, the Indians (14-4-1) didn’t test Raiders goalkeeper Chris Sullivan as much as they would have liked, Miguel Cerveleon’s goal being ruled out for offside on one of the chances that did hit the target.

“It’s tough to get it down there and have so many opportunities and not be able to put one away,” Indians coach Jonathan Drake said. “I thought that first goal that was called back could have been a difference maker, that’s the game, sometimes it happens to you.”

As poor as the Raiders passing was at certain points of the second half, their third goal in the 69th minute showed what they could do when they put it all together. After the move began in their own half, the ball was passed wide to Martinez, who drove down the left. He then held up, and found Black surging through the left channel, and Black took the ball on before centering across the top of the 6-yard box where Marcus Svensson was there to meet it with a low finish.

“It definitely shows what they’re capable of,” Rossiter said of the goal. “Sometimes every team has their differences in the players on the field, but tonight everyone was definitely playing, the chemistry was there.”

Kyle Whiteside pulled a goal back three minutes later, being slipped in and firing home from close range after an initial shot had been blocked, but the Indians were unable to rally any further. Plant City did get a late scare as Black was helped off the field with what was described after the game as a bruised quad, meaning he may not be available for Friday’s final against Newsome.

Rossiter said the Raiders would now take a break until the final, and try to rest and recuperate with their place in the region tournament secured, but that the opportunity to win the second district title in school history was a big one.

“It’s huge, especially for our seniors,” Rossiter said. “I think it really gives them a lot of momentum, but they’ve still got to work hard to achieve it.”

5 Questions With ... Olivia Bloemke

2010-01-26T13:10:00.000-08:00

Freedom senior Olivia Bloemke has scored eight goals and added six assists this season as the Patriots enter the Class 5A-Region 3 playoffs this week as District 9 champions. Bloemke, who has committed to Rollins College for next season, took some time to talk to the TBSB ahead of the Patriots game against Manatee on Thursday night.

TBSB: One of big things in high school soccer is playing well at the right time, and it seems you guys are doing just that. Is it feeling like you’re peaking at the right to make a run to states?

Olivia Bloemke: Oh yeah, we're definitely peaking at the right time. Our focus this year has just been on trying to finish, and the past couple of games we’ve just found the back of the net and we were able to find each other openings. We’re just really synced right now and working really well together, so I think we can hopefully go far in this tournament.

TBSB: Do you know much about Manatee?

Bloemke: We’ve never played them before and we don’t know much about them. We’re not taking them lightly at all, and we’re going into it just as we would any other opponent.

TBSB: Do you have any specific pregame routine before each game?

Bloemke: I always pray before I play. When the national anthem is going on I always have a quiet time with myself and concentrate on what I need to do before the game, and just get that done.

TBSB: Who’s the player on the team that keeps every relaxed, who keeps everyone loose and having fun?

Bloemke: I think Chloe Stokes has a good sense of humor. She always knows when to crack jokes and take the pressure off.

TBSB: What would it mean to you to make a run to the state finals?

Bloemke: Not just for me, but for the whole team especially the seniors and Coach (Chris) Hinkle I think it would mean a great deal, because our guys went last year, and I don’t think girls soccer at Freedom has gotten the recognition they need so far in their history. It would be great to go as far as we can with the talent that we have.

Preps: Focus on preparation keys Palm Harbor's success

2010-01-26T09:25:00.000-08:00

PALM HARBOR – Ask Palm Harbor University’s leading scorer Catherine Brinkman what the biggest key to the Hurricanes’ success this season has been, and the answer isn’t the high-scoring forwards, the tight defense or the creative midfield.

It’s been the team’s focus during warm-ups.

“I think our biggest key has been warming up correctly, and playing as a team right away,” Brinkman said as the ESPN Rise No.10-ranked Hurricanes prepared to face Bloomingdale in the Class 6A-Region 2 quarterfinals on Thursday. “Not waiting 20 minutes or 30 minutes to get ready. Coming out and playing our game from the start, getting a goal quickly and from there on playing as a team.”

The Hurricanes have used that method to earn an 18-0-1 record, and their eighth straight district title last week with a 4-0 victory against Countryside in the Class 6A-7 final.

“If we can control a game for the first 10 minutes, put another team on their heels, it’s a really big factor,” Coach John Planamenta said. “It sets a tone for the game if you can control the first few minutes.”

That was the case in last season’s Class 5A State championship game against Lakeland George Jenkins, where the Hurricanes didn’t allow the Eagles a chance to settle, and controlled the flow and tempo for much of the game. Brinkman scored twice to lead the Hurricanes to a 3-1 victory, giving the program its fourth state championship.

The focus Brinkman talks about has been there for the bulk of this season as well, but the moments where the early focus wasn’t there has only driven home how critical preparation before the match begins is to the team’s success.

“There was one game this year where the girls goofed around too much during warm-up, and it showed in the first 10 minutes, and they knew right away what it was, it was a poor warm-up, poor preparation,” Planamenta said. “The girls know what they need to do to get ready for each game. These games, getting into the postseason especially, we try to prepare them for what to look out for for the opponents, but like Catherine said, they know what they’re supposed to do in order to get ready, get prepared.”

Being properly prepared is going to be critical as the Hurricanes try to win a second straight state title. While the Hurricanes have played well so far this season, the only blemish on their record a 1-1 tie with Seminole, the players don’t think they’ve had as many challenging matches as in previous seasons.

“We haven’t been challenged, challenged,” defender Shannon Walisch said. “Countryside gave us a run for our money, (so did) Seminole, but Bloomingdale and the teams we’re going to face are going to come at us strong.”

The fact that they have been so dominant, though, may point to why the Hurricanes feel they haven’t been tested yet. Brinkman has scored 37 goals and the defense hasn’t conceded a goal in 2010, which explains their ascent up the national rankings. Brinkman, though, says the side hasn’t really thought about their standing in the national scene, with the only thing on their minds taking the first step to a Class 6A state title.

“That sort of thing doesn’t bother us. We don’t go to those tournaments to get ranked higher, that’s not our main goal. I mean, last year we beat the No.1 team in the nation, George Jenkins, and we were like ‘They’re No.1?’ We don’t see the rankings as that big of a deal.” Brinkman said. “It’s not all about status. If we come to a field and were ready to play, it doesn’t matter if they’re No.1 or No.50, if we come to play better than them, then we’re going to win.”

Preps: Palm Harbor girls still No.10, Sickles boys up to No.17 in ESPN rankings

2010-01-26T09:15:00.000-08:00

Palm Harbor University's girls remained ranked No.10 in the latest set of ESPN Rise Fab 50 rankings after a 4-0 victory against Countryside in the Class 6A-Disrict 8 final last Friday.

The victory gave the Hurricanes their eighth straight district title. They will face Bloomingdale on Thursday night as they begin their pursuit of a second straight state title.

On the boys side, Sickles moved up five places to No.17 after its victory at the Wharton Invitational last week. The Gryphons are the favorites to win Class 5A-District 9, and could be headed for a collision course with East Lake, now ranked No.26 and the favorite in Class 5A-District 11.

The two teams could meet in the Class 5A-Region 3 final, should each advance that far.

Preps: Wharton Invitational title keeps Sickles on top of Coaches Poll

2010-01-26T09:04:00.000-08:00

Sickles’ dominant performance in the Wharton Invitational kept the Gryphons on top of the Hillsborough County Coaches Boys Soccer Poll entering this week’s district championships, as the top eight teams in poll remained unmoved.

The only changes saw Tampa Prep move up one spot to No.9, and Wharton enter the poll as Berkeley Prep dropped out of the rankings.

The district tournaments could see multiple top five match-ups. Tonight sees No.2 Plant City and No.4 East Bay face off in the Class 5A-District 8 semifinals, and the winner could face No.5 Newsome in Friday’s final. No.1 Sickles and No.3 Gaither could also meet in the Class 5A-Disrict 9 final.

The full poll is listed below:

1. Sickles (19-1-2)
2. Plant City (12-1-2)
3. Gaither (13-3-1)
4. East Bay (13-3-1)
5. Newsome (12-4-3)
6. Steinbrenner (10-2-2)
7. Jesuit (14-4-3)
8. Tampa Catholic (11-4-3)
9. Tampa Prep (12-4-2)
10. Wharton (8-5-2)

Preps: Final girls poll has Plant on top

2010-01-25T09:08:00.001-08:00

The Plant Panthers will enter the girls region playoffs as the top-ranked team in Hillsborough County as they remained No.1 in the final Hillsborough County Coaches Poll of the season when it was released on Monday morning.

The Panthers defeated No.3 Bloomingdale 1-0 for the Class 6A-District 8 title on Friday, and will host Countryside in the Class 6A-Region 2 quarterfinals on Thursday evening.

Berkeley Prep finished in the No.2 slot after winning the Class 3A-District 10 title. The Buccaneers will host Frostproof on Thursday night.

The remainder of the top five remained the same, with Newsome at No.4 and Steinbrenner at No.5. Freedom jumped into the No.6 slot after their 5-0 victory in the 5A-9 final against Hillsborough, and Tampa Prep is ranked No.8 entering the Class 2A-Region 3 playoffs.

The full poll can be found below:

1. Plant (20-1-1)
2. Berkeley Prep (17-4-2)
3. Bloomingdale (13-5-3)
4. Newsome (14-3-4)
5. Steinbrenner (15-0-2)
6. Freedom (12-3-4)
7. East Bay (12-4-2)
8. Tampa Prep (15-5-4)
9. Wharton (9-7-4)
10. Hillsborough (12-3-1)

Preps: Boys Districts ready to get underway

2010-01-25T08:19:00.000-08:00

Boys District tournament open across the area tonight as the second season begins. Here’s a look at the districts that include Hillsborough County squads.

CLASS 6A-8
At Wharton

Teams: Alonso, Bloomingdale, Brandon, Plant, Wharton.

Outlook: Without a truly outstanding team, 6A-8 is one of the more open districts. Plant earned the No.1 seed thanks in part to their outstanding home record, but both Wharton and Bloomingdale will be dangerous, with the Wildcats home field advantage potentially proving crucial. Wharton went 3-1 at home in district play, the only loss a surprise 3-2 defeat to No.5 seed Brandon.

CLASS 5A-8
At Durant

Teams: Armwood, Durant, East Bay, Newsome, Plant City, Riverview, Tampa Bay Tech.

Outlook: No.1 seed Plant City should be favored to win this district, but the Raiders could get a serious test from East Bay should the Indians get past Riverview in the quarterfinals. East Bay reached the final of the Wharton Invitational last week, and could be primed to spring an upset. Newsome should match up with Durant in the other semifinals, the Wolves looking to bounce back from their 3-0 loss to Sickles in the Wharton Invitational.

CLASS 5A-9
At King

Teams: Chamberlain, Freedom, Gaither, Hillsborough, King, Leto, Sickles.

Outlook: Last season, Sickles was primed for a deep run into the playoffs, only to see their hopes get derailed in the district semifinals. Don’t expect a similar letdown from the Gryphons this season, who won the Wharton Invitational, defeating prospective semifinals opponent King 2-0 in the process. Gaither appears to be the favorite to meet the Gryphons in the final as the Cowboys have won two straight impressively since falling to Sickles on Jan.8.

CLASS 4A-9
At Strawberry Crest

Teams: Blake, Jefferson, Jesuit, Lennard, Middleton, Robinson, Spoto, Steinbrenner, Strawberry Crest.

Outlook: Steinbrenner and Jesuit should ease into the final here, with only Robinson taking a point from either side with their 2-2 draw against Jesuit at the beginning of the season. Jesuit appears to be the side in form after its 4-2 victory against Berkeley Prep on Saturday, while Steinbrenner came down to earth hard in a 4-0 loss against Gaither after earning the No.1 seed with a 2-1 win against the Tigers in their final district game.

CLASS 3A-10
At St. Petersburg Catholic

Teams: Berkeley Prep, Clearwater Central Catholic, St. Petersburg Catholic, Tampa Catholic.

Outlook: The absence of Berkeley’s T.J. Roehn for at least the district tournament, if not the region quarterfinals and semifinals, could open the door for Tampa Catholic to make a run at the title. Berkeley, even without Roehn, shouldn’t have any issue advancing past St. Petersburg Catholic in the semifinals, though, and should have starting goalkeeper Leland Newhaller back after missing time with a bruised hip. Mark Biddinger is a long-shot to return this week though, his return being more likely should the Bucs make the region tournament.

CLASS 2A-8
At Lakeland Christian

Teams: Winter Haven All Saints’, Leesburg First Academy, Lakeland Christian, Lakeland Santa Fe Catholic, Seffner Christian, Lakeland Victory Christian.

Outlook: Seffner Christian has played well to close out the season, their only loss in their last six games coming against coming to Santa Fe Catholic, but that is the side the Crusaders will need to beat should it advance against First Academy in the quarterfinals to reach the region tournament.

CLASS 2A-9
At Bishop McLaughin

Teams: Academy at the Lakes, Bishop McLaughlin, Calvary Christian, Carrollwood Day, Hernando Christian, Indian Rocks Christian, Tampa Prep.

Outlook: Tampa Prep has, of late, looked like a side slightly lacking in confidence. The opportunity for the Terrapins to re-find their scoring touch should help that this week, setting them up for another potential run at the final four. Indian Rocks Christian was the only district opposition able to play the Terrapins close this season in a 3-1 Tampa Prep win, and should be the favorite to advance to the final and into the region quarterfinals.

CLASS 2A-10
At Shorecrest Prep

Teams: Admiral Farragut, Bradenton Christian, Cambridge, Keswick Christian, Northside Christian, Out of Door Academy, Shorecrest Prep, Bradenton St. Stephen’s.

Outlook: No.6 seed Cambridge will need to pull a pair of upsets to earn a place in the final as they first face No.3 seed and host Shorecrest, which has already beaten the Lancers twice this season, and should they advance there No.2 seed Out of Door, which beat the Lancers 2-0 earlier in the season.

For a Pinellas County perspective on the upcoming week, we turn to Bryan Burns of the St. Petersburg Times, who takes a look at Palm Harbor, Countryside and Indian Rocks Christian here.

Meanwhile, in Pasco County, The Times’ Izzy Gould looks at the prospects of Land O’ Lakes, Sunlake, WireGrass Ranch and Mitchell here.

Last season, this week was full of surprises, with a number of favored teams falling early. Who's your pick to make a surprise run into the region playoffs? And which of the top seeds is it going to be at the expense of?

Gathman leads Tigers past Roehn-less Buccaneers

2010-01-23T16:51:00.001-08:00

TAMPA – Jesuit got a pair of first half goals from Stephen Gathman, and then held off a strong rally in the final 15 minutes, to defeat a Berkeley Prep side missing star striker T.J. Roehn 4-2 in both side’s regular season finale on Saturday evening at Newman Stadium.

Roehn was ejected for using a profanity in Berkeley’s game Wednesday night against Lakeland Jenkins, and is appealing the three-week suspension issued, but he saw his teammates start strongly on Senior Day as they pressed for an early goal. The Tigers (14-4-3) were able to weather the storm, though, and took the lead in the 13th minute as Gathman latched onto a through-ball and fired low into the right corner.

Gathman then struck again in the 26th minute, a defensive clearance by Berkeley being headed back forward by Jesuit’s Tyler Hartlage to Gathman, who controlled his shot well after it bobbled just as he drove it into the right corner.

Berkeley (9-8-3) had its chances to score in the first half, with Auston Chen shooting over the crossbar after being put through by Jordan Tannenbaum. Tannenbaum also had a good opportunity, but a nasty bounce as he was trying to shoot caused his effort to slice wide. Kevin Harvey also saw a header go over the crossbar after a good cross by Tannenbaum.

Those missed opportunities would hurt even more a minute before halftime as Joel Gutierrez stole in at the near post to flick home Joseph Metzger’s corner to make it 3-0 at the break.

“I thought the third goal was critical, because a 2-0 lead is always a dangerous lead,” Jesuit coach Bob Bauman said. “We has pretty much subbed all of our starters out by then, so for the last 15 minutes of the first half was bench, and we’ve been able to go to our bench this year and maintain a high level of play.”

Alex Moore added a fourth for the Tigers with 14 minutes to go, but then the Bucs rallied behind Theo Wells, who headed home from a Jake Felman corner in the 69th minute before scoring on a deflected shot a minute later.

Felman had a chance at a hat trick, but his shot with six minutes to go was brilliantly saved by Seth Drummond, who dove low to his left to turn the shot aside, allowing the Tigers to hold on. Wells said while getting his third, and setting up a big end to the game, would have been nice, the fact that the Bucs had rallied back without Roehn left the team feeling optimistic about its chances without their star.

“If we walked out of here with a 4-0 loss, it would have been hard,” Wells said. “I’m glad that without T.J. we got two goals, we rallied at the end, we got some momentum going into districts.”

Roehn would be eligible to return for the Class 3A-Region 3 final should his appeal be turned down, with the possibility he could be available for the region quarterfinals if it is reduced by a week. Berkeley coach Tim Cooper said he thought his side would miss Roehn, and would need other players to step up in his stead.

“It’s obviously a tough loss for us, not having T.J., he’s been 90, 95 percent of our offense,” Cooper said. “The guys know they’re going to have to step it up, and that’s what it’s going to come down to.”

Roehn hit with three-week suspension

2010-01-23T15:40:00.000-08:00

Berkeley Prep soccer standout T.J. Roehn has been given a three-week suspension after getting a straight red card against Lakeland George Jenkins on Wednesday night.

The suspension would mean Roehn’s first possible game back would be the Class 3A-Region 3 final, should the Buccaneers advance that far without him.

Speaking before the Buccaneers game Saturday against Jesuit, Roehn said the red card came late in the game after he got into an altercation with his marker at a corner. According to Roehn, after the referee approached to try and handle the situation, the Jenkins player claimed Roehn punched him, to which Roehn responded using a profanity. That resulted in his ejection.

Roehn said he would appeal, with the hope the suspension would be reduced by a week. That would allow him to compete in the region quarterfinals after sitting out this week’s Class 3A-District 10 tournament at St. Petersburg Catholic.

Roehn currently has 101 goals for the school, four short of Tyler Davis’ school record.

Preps: Plant's season starts now; District final wrap-up

2010-01-23T08:13:00.000-08:00

After defeating Bloomingdale 1-0 to win the Class 6A-District 8 title, the Plant Panthers' season begins now.

And after a dominant defensive dsiplay against the Bulls, detailed here by the St. Petersburg Times' Eduardo A. Encina, the Panthers look ready to put the disappointment of last season's region quarterfinals loss to East Lake behind them.

Particularly impressive in the way the Panthers played was the composure they showed defensively. Coach Steve McGill said after the game how pleased he was was with the decision-making his defense and midfield showed.

"We didn't have any miscommunications back there," McGill said. "They played safe, played safe balls out. We did a really nice job of covering each other tonight; when one stepped up, another always dropped back just in case. They were really active on the defensive end."

The Panthers wll host Countryside on Thursday evening after the Cougars fell to ESPN Rise No.10 Palm Harbor University in the 6A-7 final. The Times' Bryan Burns details here how the Hurricanes dominated in a 4-0 victory to take their eighth straight district title. At this point, PHU has to be considered a favorite to win back-to-back state titles after winning the Class 5A championship last season.

In Class 5A, Newsome cruised to the District 8 title with a 3-0 victory against East Bay. The Tribune's Jarrett Guthrie was at the game, and details here how the Wolves were able to earn their second straight 5A-8 title.

Newsome believed its victory made a statement, and so did its former district rival Freedom in a 5-0 victory against Hillsborough to take the 5A-9 title. The Times' Todd Foley writes here that the Terriers didn't manage a shot as the Patriots dominated possession, running away with the game with four second-half goals.

The perceived favorite to reach the final four from the Patriots' region is Seminole, who earned the 5A-11 crown with a 3-1 victory against East Lake. Sierre Lelii scored twice, and told The Times' Nathan Cowan here that this was the first step for the Warhawks, who will face Northeast in the region quarterfinals after the Vikings lost 2-1 to Largo in the 5A-12 final.

As expected, Steinbrenner dominated Robinson 8-0 to win a district title in its first season. The Warriors will wait to find out who they play later today as Lakewood Ranch faces Palmetto in the 4A-10 final at 2 p.m.

In Pasco County, Hudson needed a goal from Alicia Schuering in the second period of overtime to get past Mitchell 2-1 for the 4A-7 title, The Tribune's Mike Camunas providing the details here. The Cobras will host Land O' Lakes in the region quartefinals after River Ridge won its fifth straight district title with a 3-1 victory against the Gators.

Berkeley Prep got a goal from Sam Newhaller to give the Buccaneers a 1-0 victory and the 3A-10 title against Clearwater Central Catholic, but CCC played far better than they had in previous encounter's, which should give them hope if the two teams meet again in a region semifinal.

Tampa Prep, on the other hand, got five goals from Colby Maffei as it blasted Indian Rocks Christian 8-0, which apparently shouldn't have given the Terrapins the additional motivation it did after the semifinals. The Terrapins will now face Shorecrest Prep, which gave up three late goals to Bradenton St. Stephen's to fall 3-1 in the 2A-10 final.

New Zealand's Christie becomes Rowdies' first signing

2010-01-22T07:37:00.000-08:00

The Tampa Bay Rowdies have announced their first official signing, New Zealand international Jeremy Christie.

Christie, a midfielder, has won 20 caps for New Zealand, and played in five of his country’s qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup. New Zealand will face Italy, Paraguay and Slovakia in the opening round of the tournament after qualifying for the first time since 1982.

“Jeremy Christie has the experience and skill to be a true leader on the field and in our locker room. He has played well at the highest level for his country since the age of 16,” team owner and president Andrew Nestor said in a press release. “Jeremy is the kind of player whose skill and professionalism will exemplify our club.”

Christie is the first of seven foreign players the Rowdies will be able to sign. His prior professional begin with Barnsley in England before he returned closer to home to play in Australia’s A-League, competing for the New Zealand Knights, Perth Glory and Wellington Phoenix before a short stay with Waikatere United in the New Zealand Football Championship.

“I’m excited to be a part of the Rowdies in their inaugural season,” Christie said. “I look forward to moving to Florida and working with the remarkable Rowdies coaching staff and organization.”

Dalglish pleased as Rowdies' combine concludes

2010-01-21T17:36:00.000-08:00

TAMPA – No-one was sure how many players the Tampa Bay Rowdies would be looking at giving contracts to before their final combine began at the Ed Radice Sports Complex on Tuesday afternoon, including Manager Paul Dalglish and General Manager Perry Van Der Beck.

After Thursday morning’s final scrimmages, though, Dalglish said that he felt multiple players who had taken part over the week would be getting offers from the club.

“We’re definitely going to be offering contracts from it,” Dalglish said. “Even if we’d gotten one player it would have been worthwhile, but I think we’ll probably get more than one player from this.”

Among those that appeared to help their causes on Thursday were Jesuit alum Joe Donoho, who was excellent in the center of defense, and former Ridgewood standout and Chicago Fire draftee Richard Jata, whose versatility would likely be an asset to the new franchise.

Dalglish thought the good performances of Japanese midfielder Takuya Yamada lived up to the expectations the Rowdies management had when Yamada told them he would be coming to work out, but that there were others who hadn’t got Yamada’s experience who had also made a good impression.

“We knew he was a good player before he came in,” Dalglish said. “He’s played for his national team in Japan, he’s played nearly 400 games in the J-League, he’s played at the top level his whole career. That wasn’t a surprise to see him be so good, but some of the ones who haven’t played professionally before, or who haven’t played at a high level before have stood out, which was really pleasing.”

COMBINE QUALITY: Jata had been at the first combine the Rowdies held in Tampa last year, and said he thought the quality of player brought in for this week’s event was of a higher standard.

That was certainly reflected in Thursday’s second game, which was remarkably sharply played. Dalglish said the sides had been switched around to try and fit some pieces together after seeing the player’s styles up close for the first two days.

“We did try and doctor it a little today to try and get players we did have an interest in playing together,” Dalglish said. “It was great to see the standard, even though there were some tired legs, the standard was still good.”

Jata was pleased with the way he played, picking up an assist when his inswinging corner from the right was met by Kyle Clinton at the far post for a low volleyed finish.

“I’m happy, I like it here, we’ll see if it works out, I hope so,” Jata said. “Last day, I couldn’t hold anything back, and I thought this was the best team that I had as far as guys that play like me. I just played simple today, I didn’t try to do too much dribbling, just played a lot of one, two, three-touch, and it worked out a lot better.”

HOMETOWN BOOST: A number of players with local ties played alongside Donoho and Jata in the final game, with Jay Ayers (Bloomingdale), Chad Burt (Northeast) and Kirk LaBusch (Brandon) among them.

For Ayers, the event was an enjoyable one, as he got to play alongside players he had grown up competing with and against. The key thing, though, was putting in the type of performances that would allow him a chance to return when the Rowdies open their training camp.

“It was good getting a run in with some of the local guys,” Ayers said. “It’s always nice getting back on the field with them, but they’re looking to bring in talent, whether it’s from Tampa or not. Obviously, if they’re looking at a (couple of players) and they bring the same amount of skill to the table, they’re going to select the local guy, so that gives us a little advantage I think.”

Dalglish said he thought the opportunity of playing for a home-town team was an excellent incentive for the players with local ties, and he thought that had allowed them to raise their games as a result.

“I think the local guys are hungry for it,” Dalglish said. “They want to play for the hometown team, and they showed it today. It’s great for us if we can get local talent on the team because it gives the fans something to relate to. They’ve seen the journey they’ve taken to get to the professional level with the Rowdies, and then they know it’s a realistic journey they can take.”

Milien, Rowdies talking; Burt taking his chance

2010-01-20T17:12:00.000-08:00

His absence from the field, but presence at the Tampa Bay Rowdies combine, had led some to speculate that former University of Tampa All-American Pascal Milien was one of the players the Rowdies had already signed to become part of their inaugural season.

But while Milien said he and his people and the Rowdies are talking, nothing is definite yet.

“We’re working on something right now, so we’ll just wait and see how everything’s going to be going,” Milien said. “Those guys saw me play at the MLS combine, and I have a little ankle injury, and I don’t want to make it worse, so that’s why (I’m not playing).”

Milien said he would love to stay in Tampa, though.

“It would be really, really exciting because this is my hometown, pretty much,” Milien said. “This is where I go to school, 45 minutes away from where I went to high school. Nice, beautiful weather in Florida, so I would love to stay here.”

TAKING HIS CHANCE: The first combine the Rowdies held in Tampa didn’t go well for St. Petersburg’s Chad Burt. Injured on the opening day, he didn’t get much opportunity to impress General Manager Perry Van Der Beck.

This time around, Burt is making the most of his chance. He has played well for the first two days, and picked up a goal on Wednesday while going close with another pair of opportunities.

“My legs are getting a little tired,” Burt said. “I played a little bit more simple today defensively, and it was great to get the goal. Make it a little easier on me and my teammates.”

Burt had bags of ice strapped to his calves after the game to help cool as the afternoon sun appeared to take its toll on a lot of players. His Yellow ‘B’ squad, after a shaky first 15 minutes, settled down and played well for the final 15 minutes of the first period and the opening 15 of the second before the game slowed.

“When the game starts, it was all very tight, you’ve got everyone flying around,” Burt said. “When the game settled down we got a little more possession out of the back. It’s a lot easier when you’re moving the ball instead of having everyone flying around at 100 miles-per-hour, but I felt like after that first 15 we got the ball to the players we needed to hold the ball and went from there.”

SCRIMMAGE SUMMARIES: In warmer conditions that Tuesday, the pace of the opening game between the Yellow ‘B’ and Blue ‘A’ teams was pretty frenetic, with the Blue squad getting the better of it as the Yellow side wasn’t as sharp as in its opener. Former USF standout Francisco Aristeguieta moved into the center of midfield for Blue, playing on the top of a triangle with Stanley Nyazamba and Takuya Yamada, and seemed more comfortable there than in the opening game where he had played wide.

Aristeguita almost opened the scoring, in fact, after a nice move down the right was centered to the top of the penalty area where Sean Bucker layed it off to Aristeguieta for a drive, only for former University of Tampa All-American Ryan Thompson to tip the shot over the crossbar.

But then the Yellow squad found its rhythm, led by midfielder Alan Sanchez and defender Otto Loewy, who had an excellent game at the back. That led to a pair of chances for Chad Burt, the first beautifully turned aside by Blue goalkeeper Dan Williams, but the second finding the back of the net.

Burt then saw his curling shot from just outside the penalty area go over the bar just after the break, while forward Aaron Wheeler also did nice work up top for the blue squad.

The Yellow ‘A’ squad got off to a fast start in their game against the Blue ‘B’ team as a counter-attack was capped by an early goal for Bryan Perez. The Yellow team pursued a more aggressive approach in getting the ball forward, and full back Taylor Lord was impressive not only in defense, but also when he made a good run past two players to set up an attack that led to a good effort on goal by Tyrell Burgess.

The Blue squad was a little more patient in its build-up, with Ryan Maduro from Providence pulling the strings well in midfield and Dwight Barnett again offering good strength and work-rate up front. But as in the opening day, Barnett often didn’t get the support he needed from his midfield, and was left to toil alone.

After the break, with former Chicago Fire draftee and Ridgewood High Richard Jata holding a more prominent role, the Yellow squad did well. They scored their second goal of the game after Jata had his shot from the left parried away, only for the rebound to come to Alex Weekes, who rifled a low shot into the back of the net from 15 yards out.

Preps: Sickles up to No.22 in ESPN rankings; Girls districts start to hit crunch tonight

2010-01-20T09:08:00.000-08:00

Sickles move up two spots in the latest ESPN Rise Fab 50 boys soccer poll on Tuesday, sliding the Gryphons into the No.22 spot.

The Gryphons have looked impressive all season, and overcame a slow start to earn a 3-0 win against Newsome on Tuesday evening to advance to the semifinals of the Wharton Invitational tonight. Sickles has reached the knockout stages of the tournament the past two seasons but has never won the tournament, losing in the semifinals in 2008 and in the final against Durant last season.

For more on that game, and the rest of the semifinalists, here’s my story for the Tampa Tribune this morning.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/jan/19/sp-sickles-reaches-semis/

East Lake also got a small bump up the rankings, moving up to No.29 this week. Should the Eagles come out of Class 5A-District 11, a potential match against the Gryphons could occur in the region final should both schools advance that far.

In the girls poll, Palm Harbor University has edged its way up to the No.10 spot of the poll, remaining the only bay area team in the Fab 50.

According to the St. Petersburg Times’ Bryan Burns, the Hurricanes appear set for a rematch with Countryside in the Class 6A-District 8 final.

http://hometeam.tampabay.com/blog/2010/jan/16/3502-pinellas-girls-soccer-district-preview/

The district tournaments start getting to the sharp end tonight in Hillsborough County, with berths in the region tournament at stake in tonight’s semifinals. Here’s a look at the county from The St. Petersburg Times’ Eduardo A. Encina and the Tampa Tribune’s Jarrett Guthrie.

http://hometeam.tampabay.com/blog/2010/jan/16/5129-hillsborough-girls-soccer-district-preview/

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/jan/18/girls-soccer-district-preview/sports-prepsports/

Dalglish pleased with opening day of Rowdies combine

2010-01-19T19:30:00.001-08:00

TAMPA – There was a sense of nervousness as the close approached 1 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon at the Ed Radice Sports Complex.

While two teams warmed up quietly on the field, other players sat quietly in the stands. Even as big a personality as former University of Tampa goalkeeper Ryan Thompson sat quietly, waiting to see what would unfold.

Soon after the opening whistle went, though, officially beginning the Tampa Bay Rowdies final combine, the determination and desire began to show through, leaving Rowdies manager Paul Dalglish happy with the opening day of workouts.

“Really pleased, I think the standard overall was very, very good,” Dalglish said. “It’s too early to say if we’ll be offering anybody any contracts just now, but certainly some people have put themselves in line if they keep showing as well as they did today.”

Dalglish added that he wasn’t surprised to see the level of determination shown by all of the players in what were two entertaining scrimmages.

“You’d be very disappointed if there wasn’t,” he said. “This is the best opportunity some of these players are ever going to get to play professional soccer, maybe the only opportunity they’re going to get, so they’ve got to show determination, they’ve got to show desire because if they can’t take the best opportunity they’re going to get, they’re not going to show the determination when they’re playing.”

WHO DID WELL: Dalglish was understandably reticent to name any names, but there were some players that caught the TBSB’s eye in a positive manner. The shortlist for Day 1:

Richard Jata, M: The former Chicago Fire draftee was all over the field for his side, showing an excellent level of touch and fitness. He also came close to scoring twice with headers from corners, and his example appeared to help the rest of his Yellow squad raise its game in the second half of its scrimmage.

Stanley Nyazamba, M: Central midfielder impressed with his ability to get up and down the field, and did well not only winning possession but keeping his side flowing with his passing. Also had an excellent strike from well outside the penalty area turned wide.

Sam Meheu, F: Was energetic from the start of the second scrimmage, and linked up well with forward partner Kenny King and his midfield, where Chad Burt and Alan Sanchez also impressed.

SCRIMMAGE SUMMARIES: Led by Nyazamba, the Blue 'A' squad opened the first scrimmage well, with Ryan Maxwell also looking dangerous down the right side. The possession and pressure they were able to generate didn’t translate to many chances, though, and just before halftime the Yellow 'A' side’s Jordan Seabrook scored after a quick free kick driven low into the penalty area was flicked on to him by Aaron Wheeler, and Seabrook finished well.

Seabrook’s Yellow side then played better in the second half as it appeared some on the Blue side faded a little, with Jata doing well in the midfield and former Plant City standout Cheyne Roberts having a good game defensively.

The Yellow 'B' squad came out buzzing in the second scrimmage, putting pressure on their Blue 'B' counterparts with excellent passing moves and runs off the ball. It wasn’t until the first minute of the second half that they scored the only goal, though, Shaka Bengura stealing possession from a defender on the left side of the Blue half before showing excellent composure to curl his right-footed shot from just outside the penalty area into the right corner of the net.

The Blue squad played better as the game went on, forcing a pair of good saves from Ryan Thompson. Blue forward Dwight Barnett worked hard as a lone striker, but it wasn’t until the game began to open up in the second half that it felt like he got the necessary support from his midfield.

Cowboys, Indians, Crusaders get bump in latest Coaches Poll

2010-01-18T21:57:00.001-08:00

Gaither and East Bay made a jump up the rankings, and Tampa Catholic moved into the poll for the first time, when the Hillsborough County Coaches Boys Soccer Poll was released on Monday night.

Sickles and Plant City remained No.1 and No.2, with the Cowboys moving up one position to No.3 and the Indians vaulting into the No.4 slot from No.7 after a 3-0 win against Durant on Saturday.

The Crusaders, buoyed by their 3-1 win against Tampa Prep on Saturday, entered the poll at No.8. Steinbrenner also moved up to No.6, pushing Jesuit down to No.7.

On the girl’s side, the top six teams remained unchanged, with Plant remaining on top of the poll entering this week’s district playoffs.

There were two changes lower down in the top ten, as Freedom and Wharton exchanged places, the Patriots shifting up to No.7, while Hillsborough and Tampa Prep also switched positions, the Terriers garnering the No.9 position.

BOYS

1. Sickles (15-1-3)
2. Plant City (11-0-2)
3. Gaither (12-3-1)
4. East Bay (12-2-1)
5. Newsome (11-3-3)
6. Steinbrenner (9-1-1)
7. Jesuit (12-4-3)
8. Tampa Catholic (10-2-4)
9. Berkeley Prep (9-6-1)
10. Tampa Prep (10-4-2)

GIRLS

1. Plant (18-1-1)
2. Berkeley Prep (15-4-2)
3. Bloomingdale (12-4-3)
4. Newsome (12-3-4)
5. Steinbrenner (14-0-2)
6. East Bay (11-3-2)
7. Freedom (9-3-4)
8. Wharton (9-6-4)
9. Hillsborough (11-2-1)
10. Tampa Prep (13-5-4)

A conversation with Rowdies manager Paul Dalglish

2010-01-18T17:23:00.000-08:00

On the eve of the Tampa Bay Rowdies final player combine, which begins at the Ed Radice Sports Complex on Tuesday, Rowdies manager Paul Dalglish took a moment to talk about what his experience had been like so far and some of the players the Rowdies were bringing in for the three-day camp, and what he expected to see in the upcoming days.

TBSB: What was your reaction to the disagreement between the USL and NASL being resolved, and the course being set as to when opening day will be?

Paul Dalglish: It was a big relief for everyone that the league situation got sorted out, and I just think everybody’s happy that there was a solution that everyone was happy with, and we’re going to play some football this year. It wouldn’t be nice to think of there being no second tier of football in the United States.

TBSB: Is there anything that has surprised you about becoming a full-time manager?

Dalglish: No, not really. It’s been really hard work, simply because we’re a brand new franchise and obviously all the hard work that had to go in to get the league up and running. Then if you add on to that that we didn’t have any players when we came in, and we have to find a whole squad of players in a short space of time, it’s been very hard work and Andrew (Nestor), Perry (Van Der Beck) and myself have been working tirelessly to give the people in Tampa the very, very best team we can to watch in the upcoming season. I wouldn’t say anything’s surprised me yet, but it’s certainly been hard work.

TBSB: You’re not at liberty to discuss anyone that is either on the verge of being signed, or has been signed already, but is it exciting to have gotten that process underway and know who some of the members of your squad are going to be for the upcoming season?

Dalglish: Yeah, obviously I can’t wait until the official press conference to announce some names, but it is pretty exciting. Going after a recognizable player, going after them and finally getting them, so it’s a really exciting process but it’s also quite complicated when you don’t have any players. You’re looking at players to play with certain players, and then if you don’t get one of those players then you’ve got to change your opinion on the second player, and the picture changes every day. One day someone is available, the next day they’re not, and then you get further down the line negotiating with someone, and then someone else becomes available who may be a better fit for your organization than the person you were originally interested in, so it’s very complex when you’ve got a whole squad to pick, but I’m sure the supporters will be very happy with some of the names we’ve acquired when we announce them.

TBSB: You’ve got 44 players coming in (Tuesday). Of the list, are there any names you can point out that you’re interested to see up close?

Dalglish: We’ve got some senior internationals coming in. We’ve got a player coming in, he’s flown himself in from Japan, called Takuya Yamada. He’s got four caps for the Japanese national team, he’s a veteran player, a veteran of the J-League, but the fact that he’s willing to fly himself to come to our tryouts shows not just the interest in America, but also the interest worldwide in the Rowdies and the desire to come and play for us. Couple of other noticable names, we’ve got (former South Florida standout) Kareem Smith, who went to college in Florida and has five caps for the senior team with Trinidad, and we’ve got some of the guys from UT, Ryan Maxwell, who was drafted last year by the New England Revolution, Ryan Thompson the goalkeeper and Dan Ingvarsson the center back.

Preps: Big Prep Saturday highlighted by Land O' Lakes late winner

2010-01-17T15:29:00.001-08:00

If you checked the TBO.com prep page this morning, you'll have noticed that Saturday was a really big day for local prep soccer. Two excellent private school games, and the start of the Wharton Invitational made for a very busy, but fascinating day.

First up, Land O' Lakes' Zach Higgins grabbed the Gators a late victory against Plant in a highly entertaining contest.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/jan/17/sp-higgins-late-goal-lifts-land-o-lakes/sports-prepsports/

Plant was good, but as Coach Chris Carbon noted, the Panthers' inability to put away chances is something they have to work on if they are to first win Class 6A-8 and then make some inroads in the region tournament. With Countryside and Palm Harbor appearing the favorites to advance from 6A-7, the Panthers will have their hands full from the region quarterfinals on should they advance that far.

On the other hand, if Land O' Lakes is on its game, they are a match for anyone. If they advance from Pool C in this tournament, and I think they should with games remaining against King and Bloomingdale, the semifinal match-up against Sickles or Newsome could a a tremendous one for the neutral fan.

As for the district/region playoffs, Land O' Lakes quarterfinal against whichever side comes out of Class 5A-8, which could be anyone from Plant City, Newsome, East Bay or Durant, could be one of the best local games of the season.

Up next, Bob Bauman's 500th victory for Jesuit.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/jan/17/boys-soccer-jesuits-bauman-earns-milestone-victory/sports-prepsports/

This is the Jesuit that needs to show up for the rest of the season. If that happens, they are a legitimate threat to win a state title in Class 4A. The question is if the side can maintain the focus. A Bauman himself noted, sometimes the Tigers make things more difficult than they should for themselves. Treat every opponent as they did CCC yesterday, and the Tigers should be at the University of Tampa.

Last, Tampa Catholic's stunning victory against Tampa Prep.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/jan/17/boys-soccer-crusaders-surge-past-tampa-prep/sports-prepsports/

The difference between TC's Andrew Buckley before he scored and after was amazing. The moment he fired the Crusaders into the lead, you could see the weight lift off his shoulders, indicated further by his second goal two minutes later. If they face Berkeley in the Class 3A-10 final two weeks from now, that is going to be a must-see.

As for the Terrapins, don't dismiss them yet. Yes, there are issues with Tampa Prep right now, and the lack of goals is a big concern, but I believe that with the way the side is working right now, it is going to come for them. You get the impression that when the playoffs start, Anthony Baumann is going to put this team on his shoulders and will them to victory, and when he raises his game, which is already at a very high level, Wes Sever and Aaron Burrell are going to feast.

Bulls enjoying Canadian Under-20 camp

2010-01-16T09:25:00.000-08:00

Four members of the South Florida women’s soccer team are currently in camp with the Canadian Under-20 soccer team as the side prepares at USF for the CONCACAF qualifying competition for the FIFA 2010 Under-20 World Cup to be held in Germany.

Midfielder Gina Pacheco said she thought the camp had been going well after the Canadians scrimmaged against local club RSL Florida at the USF practice field on Friday afternoon.

“I think the camp’s going well,” Pacheco said. “Every time we’ve gotten together, we’ve gotten a little bit better as a team. I’m excited for CONCACAF and to see what’s out there. It’s my first time going so I don’t know exactly what to expect, but my hopes are high.”

Pacheco is joined on the 23-player squad by defender Bahar Sansar and midfielders Rehana Murani and Taylore Patterson. The squad will be cut down to 20 players for the tournament, which begins on Wednesday in Costa Rica. While Pacheco and Sansar have had international experience before, both were called in the Canadian senior national team squad last summer for exhibition games against the United States, should Patterson be named it would be the first time she would represent her country at any level.

“It would be amazing,” Patterson said. “I can’t wait. I hope that I’ll be on the plane, starting on the national team for qualifying, but you never know what happens.”

The opportunity for all four to compete for Canada does bode well for the Bulls as well, as Pacheco believes their play is improving.

“I think it will definitely help improve us,” Pacheco said. “We’re actually working together a lot more now with the national team, and with USF it will help us improve as a team.”

USF's Lofton-Malachi drafted, then traded, at WPS draft

2010-01-15T18:44:00.000-08:00

South Florida goalkeeper Mallori Lofton-Malachi was selected with the 39th pick of the Women’s Professional Soccer Draft by the Atlanta Beat before being traded to the Philadelphia Independence for University of Georgia forward Carrie Patterson on Friday afternoon.

Lofton-Malachi was a mainstay for the Bulls for the past three seasons, setting records for most career shutouts (18) and goals against average (1.12). She also started 52 consecutive games for the Bulls to conclude her career.

Preps: Newsome's Gutsche commits to Florida

2010-01-15T11:32:00.000-08:00

Newsome junior soccer standout Karina Gutsche has committed to the University of Florida, becoming part of the Gators' incoming class for 2011.

Gutsche said that she had been in contact with the Gators since her sophomore year, and was very happy to be joining her former Wolves teammate goalkeeper Kendall Graham as a member of the Gators. Gutsche had a pair of impressive tournaments for club side RSL Florida over the holiday break, and is playing for the Florida Olympic Development Program side in the Region III championships this weekend in New Orleans before returning for next week’s Class 5A-District 8 tournament with Newsome.

“I’m really excited about it,” Gutsche said. “I started talking to them around my sophomore year, and (Graham) told me I should go for it, so I e-mailed them, and it went really well, obviously.”

Gutsche had been considering other schools, including South Florida, Florida Gulf Coast, Saint Leo and Rollins, but said the combination of the quality of school and the soccer tradition at Florida made her decision a relatively easy one.

“It was soccer and school,” Gutsche said. “School always comes first, but it was good that their soccer program is very good as well.”

In addition to Graham, Florida also has former local standouts Jo Dragotta (Gaither), Alicia Nalley (East Lake) on its current roster, with former Sickles standout Caitlin Howard part of the graduating senior class.

Rowdies announce final combine schedule

2010-01-15T10:11:00.001-08:00

The Tampa Bay Rowdies have announced the schedule for their final player combine, which will begin on Tuesday afternoon at the Ed Radice Sports Complex.

The format is similar to that of the first combine, the principal difference being the start time, with 1 p.m. starts scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday’s sessions. The final day of the combine will begin at 9 a.m.

Tampa Spartans coach Adrian Bush said in a text message his three graduating All-Americans, goalkeeper Ryan Thompson, defender Dan Ingvarsson and midfielder/forward Pascal Milien would be among the 44 players invited to the combine after none were selected at the MLS Draft on Thursday afternoon.

Preps: Bloomingdale, Newsome set to resume rivalry

2010-01-14T19:42:00.000-08:00

It’s a sign of the times that this year’s Bloomingdale-Newsome girls soccer game has its own Facebook event page. The two now non-district rivals meet a 6 p.m. on Friday night at Bloomingdale in the final game for both teams before postseason play begins next week.

For Bloomingdale senior Jordan Johnson the game offers a perfect way for her and her teammates to prepare for the playoffs.

“I think playing Newsome is definitely going to prepare go,” Johnson said. “They’re such a good team, and a good contender to win their district, so to play a good quality team is going to help us play faster, move the ball, and get us ready for Plant next week.”

Johnson points to the Bulls 3-1 loss to the Panthers on Dec. 8 as a key moment in their season. The Bulls led 1-0 in that game before giving up three unanswered goals, teaching the Bulls a lesson about not losing focus. Since then, the Bulls have earned a 2-1 victory against East Bay in the Sarasota Invitational and a 6-0 win against Wharton in their first game back after the holiday break.

“We’ve all been a lot more focused knowing we can’t slack off in any game,” Johnson said. “We knew from that game on that we couldn’t let down at any moment because we were very vulnerable. We knew we had to get back to playing pretty soccer, moving the ball, and I think since Thanksgiving we’ve shown that we’re young, but we’re still a very strong team.”

Preps: Maffei named to Region III squad for European trip

2010-01-14T17:29:00.000-08:00

Tampa Prep’s Colby Maffei has been selected to the U.S. Youth Soccer Region III Olympic Development Program’s 1994 squad for its tour to Germany and Holland beginning on March 28 and ending April 5.

Maffei, who went from an alternate to playing in the ODP Thanksgiving Interregional tournament, leads Hillsborough County with 31 goals this season, and was named to the Tribune All-County First Team as a freshman last season.

“I’m proud of myself that I went from an alternate to being on the starting 18,” Maffei said. “It was my second year there, so I wasn’t as nervous, and I could tell from year-to-year that I definitely played so much better this year than last year.”

Region III ODP teams containing local players have made trips abroad in the past, with Bloomingdale’s Jordan Johnson having been selected to a training camp in Portugal last year with the ODP’s 1992 squad, as did Newsome freshman Wesley Gussman with the 1995 ODP team in its trip to Mexico.

Tampa Prep coach Cindy Schofield said she thought being involved in the ODP program had helped Maffei elevate not only her game, but also her leadership skills with the Terrapins and Hillsborough County United.

“Obviously she’ll get the chance to travel outside the country, which is a great experience in itself,” Schofield said, “but she’s playing with the best players in the region, and she’s playing against, really, the best players in the country in her age-group, so her game is going to benefit from it, and I think it’s helping her leadership skills, because she’s taking what she learns there and bringing it back to her club team and her high school team.”

USF's Boggs selected by New England in MLS Draft

2010-01-14T15:54:00.001-08:00

South Florida midfielder Zak Boggs was taken by the New England Revolution with the 31st pick in the MLS Draft in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

Boggs scored four goals for the Bulls last season, three of which were game-winners, while playing in all 21 games. He was also names as a Lowe’s Senior Class Award Senior All-American.

Boggs will have the opportunity to join other former Bulls in the league, including All-Americans Jeff Cunningham (FC Dallas) and Yohance Marshall (Los Angeles Galaxy), and former U.S. Under-17 and Under-20 national team player Anthony Wallace, who played a season for the Bulls before being drafted by FC Dallas.

Tampa to host U.S. vs. El Salvador, February 24

2010-01-14T12:03:00.000-08:00

Tampa will play host to the United States Men’s national team in one of its final tune-ups for the 2010 World Cup as it faces CONCACAF rival El Salvador on Feb. 24 at Raymond James Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., with the game being televised on ESPN Classic and Telefutura.

It will be the first time the U.S. Men have played in Tampa since a March 25, 2007 game against Ecuador. The U.S. won that game 3-1 behind a hat trick from Landon Donovan.

Tuesday's round-up: World Cup, Roehn and Hurricane Watch

2010-01-12T22:19:00.001-08:00

Tuesday’s big news, of course, was Tampa being named as one of the 18 cities to be included in the United States’ bid for the 2018/2022 World Cups. The Tampa Tribune’s Bill Ward was at the announcement, which had a lot of smiling faces.

http://bit.ly/4wtQvx

In high school action on Tuesday night, Berkeley Prep routed St. Petersburg Catholic 7-1, a win made more significant by Buccaneers standout T.J. Roehn scoring his 100th career goal with a first-half hat trick.

Roehn finished with four on the night, and now sits on 101 goals for his career, needing just another five to break Tyler Davis’ school record of 105. Roehn, who will join the University of South Florida’s program next season, said the biggest thing for the Bucs this season was to continue to have success as they moved into the playoffs.

“The biggest part of the season was just trying to rebuild from last season,” Roehn said. “The main goal is to do as well as we could in the playoffs, and if we do well in the playoffs, the goals will come, so they work together.”

Buccaneers coach Tim Cooper was very happy for his standout striker.

“He’s cruising along,” Cooper said. “He’s gotten on track, and if he can get another couple of goals in the next couple of weeks, he should be there. I’m proud of him.”

Elsewhere on Tuesday night, Mitchell continued its strong season with a 4-1 win against Countryside in the Hurricane Watch tournament hosted by Palm Harbor, but as the St. Petersburg Times’ Bryan Burns writes, the lone goal proved crucial for the Cougars, who will get a rematch with the Mustangs in Friday’s final.

http://bit.ly/8rdJ5g

In other Pinellas County news, Palm Harbor will travel to face St. Petersburg for the Pinellas County Athletic Conference championship on Friday evening at 6:30 p.m.

http://bit.ly/843BCD

Tampa one of 18 cities included in U.S. World Cup bid

2010-01-12T12:55:00.001-08:00

Tampa has been selected as one of the 18 cities that will make up the United States’ bid to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup when the list was announced on Tuesday afternoon in New York.

The bid committee, led by former Tampa Bay Rowdies standout Farrukh Quraishi, made its final presentation for the US Bid committed in December along with the other 26 cities vying for a place in the bid.

Nine cities were eliminated from the process today. Should the U.S. be awarded the competition for either year, another six cities would be eliminated, leaving 12 official host cities for the tournament.

Also included in the bid were Miami and Atlanta, with the biggest surprise being the omission of Chicago from the list of 18.

The bid, should it succeed, would likely be the largest in the World Cup’s history. U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati said the stadiums available to the bid would allow for an average capacity of 78,000 seats, allowing for over 5 million tickets to be available for the tournament as a whole.

Preps: Sickles up to No.24 in ESPN Rise poll, PHU girls reach No.12

2010-01-12T11:47:00.000-08:00

Sickles has moved up seven spots to No.24 in the latest ESPN Rise Boys Soccer rankings after a pair of victories against Gaither and King last week completed a perfect district schedule and gained the Gryphons the No.1 seed in the Class 5A-District 9 tournament.

The Gryphons are joined by Tampa Prep, who re-entered the rankings at No.29 despite a 4-1 setback against Berkeley Prep on Saturday while missing Anthony Bauman and Travis Simmons, and East Lake, which moved up nine spots to No.32 after a 3-0 win against Clearwater last week.

On the girl's side, Palm Harbor University remains the only bay area representative, but is nearing the Top 10, moving up 13 spots to No.12 as the Hurricanes continue their undefeated season.

PHU is now 15-0-1 after a 3-0 win against Countryside and a pair of lopsided victories against Tarpon Springs and Sarasota Riverview last week.

Rowdies announce parnership with MPS Portland Phoenix of PSL

2010-01-12T11:26:00.001-08:00

The Tampa Bay Rowdies have announced a partnership with the MPS Portland Phoenix of the United Soccer League’s Professional Development League, which will act as an outlet for the Rowdies to field non-first team players in competitive action and for player identification purposes.

In addition, the Rowdies and Phoenix coaching staffs will collaborate in an effort to align playing and training styles.

“The relationship with MPS is important for FC Tampa Bay Rowdies and will be successful due to the similar mission and philosophy of both clubs,” Rowdies Owner and President Andrew Nestor said in a press release. “We have established an aligned vision for player development that will aid the Rowdies in identifying and developing future professional players.”

Maine Premier Soccer previously fielded the Cape Cod Crusaders, which won PDL championships in 2002 and 2003. Graduates of those sides included Joseph Ngwenya, who won an MLS title in 2007 with the Houston Dynamo, and current MLS players Scott Palgutta (Colorado Rapids) and Kurt Morsink (Kansas City Wizards).

Maine Premier Soccer General Manager Paul Baber said he was excited to enter into the partnership with the Rowdies.

“As a PDL franchise, we have become a conveyor belt for players moving to professional teams both in the US and abroad,” Baber said in the press release. “We look forward to producing players who can become immediate impact players for the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the future.”

Berkeley Prep's Heaberlin named to U.S. Under-17 camp

2010-01-11T18:42:00.001-08:00

Berkeley Prep’s Bryane Heaberlin has been named to the U.S. Women’s Under-17 team for their camp in Sunrise later this month as the side prepares for qualification to the FIFA Under-17 World Cup later this year in Trinidad and Tobago.

The training camp opens on Jan. 27 and runs through Feb. 6, meaning should Berkeley advance to the region playoffs after the Class 3A-District 10 tournament next week, they would potentially miss their standout goalkeeper for the entire region tournament.

Heaberlin said she was glad that her teammates were as understanding as they were, but was disappointed she would miss out on the region playoffs.

“It was very disappointing,” Heaberlin said. “It’s a really hard situation to be in.”

The Under-17’s will be playing the German Under-17 team three times as it prepares for the CONCACAF qualifying tournament, which begins on March 9 in San Jose, Costa Rica. Heaberlin said she was looking forward to the camp, and was focused on continuing to play well to make the qualifying squad.

“I definitely feel as though if I keep working hard and playing consistently well that I will solidify my spot at No.1 and hopefully make the qualifying team,” Heaberlin said.

In other national team news, Plant City’s Omar Castro has been named to a 36-player U.S. Boys Under-14 national team squad that will travel to Guadalajara, Mexico on Sunday for an eight-day training camp.

Once in Mexico, the squad will split into two groups that will train and play against local opposition. Castro, who plays for the Plant City Area Soccer Club, previously played for the Region III Olympic Development Program at the Disney Junior Soccer Showcase, putting in a series of impressive performances.

Preps: Wharton Invitational schedule announced

2010-01-11T18:20:00.000-08:00

The draw for this year’s Wharton Invitational has been announced, with the Pool D draw that will see current Coaches Poll No.1 face No.5 Newsome appearing the standout game of the first round.

Host Wharton has been drawn in the same pool as current poll No.2 and undefeated Plant City. The Raiders could also have the possibility of facing Sickles in the final should both sides find their way through the draw, which also sees Pasco County’s Land O’ Lakes included this season.

The tournament begins this Saturday at the Temple Terrace Spirit Fields on Highway 301, and will return to Wharton High’s stadium for Wednesday’s semifinals and Thursday’s final. The complete schedule is listed below.

2010 Wharton Invitational
At Temple Terrace Spirit Fields
Highway 301
Pool play

Pool A

Saturday, Jan. 16
Wharton vs. Hillsborough, 3:45 p.m.
Lennard vs. Plant City, 5:45 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 19
Wharton vs. Lennard, 8 a.m.
Hillsborough vs. Plant City 8 a.m.
Hillsborough vs. Lennard, noon
Wharton vs. Plant City, 2 p.m.

Pool B

Saturday, Jan. 16
Freedom vs. Alonso, 3:45 p.m.
East Bay vs. Durant, 3:45 p.m.
Alonso vs. East Bay, 7:45 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 19
Freedom vs. East Bay, 8 p.m.
Alonso vs. Durant, 10 a.m.
Freedom vs. Durant, 4 p.m.

Pool C

Saturday, Jan. 16
Plant vs. Land O’ Lakes, 5:45 p.m.
Bloomingdale vs. King, 5:45 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan 19
Plant vs. Bloomingdale, 10 a.m.
Land O’ Lakes vs. King, 10 a.m.
Plant vs. King, 2 p.m.
Land O’ Lakes vs. Bloomingdale, 2 p.m.

Pool D

Saturday, Jan.16
Newsome vs. Brandon, 7:45 p.m.
Strawberry Crest vs. Sickles, 7:45 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 19
Newsome vs. Strawberry Crest, noon
Sickles vs. Brandon, noon
Newsome vs. Sickles, 4 p.m.
Brandon vs. Strawberry Crest, 4 p.m.

At Wharton High
Wednesday, Jan. 20
Semifinals
Pool A winner vs. Pool B winner, 6 p.m.
Pool C winner vs. Pool D winner, 8 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 21
Final
Semifinals winners, 8 p.m.

Preps: Sickles, Plant retain No.1 spots

2010-01-11T07:43:00.000-08:00

Sickles high’s boys and Plant high’s girls retained their top spots in the first Hillsborough County Soccer Coaches poll of the new year after both posted a pair of wins as the high school season resumed last week.

Still undefeated, Plant City’s boys moved up to the No.2 spot, while Jesuit dropped three places to No.6 after its loss to Steinbrenner on Friday night. The Warriors’ win wasn’t enough to jump them over the Tigers, though, as they moved up two spots to No.8.

No.3 Tampa Prep’s loss to Berkeley Prep on Saturday afternoon did not appear to be taken into consideration by the voters this week, as the result did not appear in either school’s listed record for the poll.

Gaither, which Sickles defeated 2-1 last Tuesday before beating Freedom 3-0 on Friday night, and Newsome, who will be the No.2 seed to Plant City in the Class 5A-District 8 tournament, round out the top five on the boys side.

Still absent from the boys top 10, though, is Plant, which defeated Alonso on Friday night to earn the No.1 seed in Class 6A-District 8.

Berkeley Prep’s impressive pair of wins against North Broward Prep and Tampa Prep allowed the Buccaneers to retain the No.2 spot in the girls poll, with Bloomingdale also holding steady at No.3. Newsome and Steinbrenner switched places from the final poll of 2009, the Warriors looking to complete an undefeated regular season when they face Strawberry Crest on Friday night.

The complete polls are listed below:

BOYS

1. Sickles (14-1-2)
2. Plant City (10-0-2)
3. Tampa Prep (8-2-1)
4. Gaither (12-3-1)
5. Newsome (10-3-2)
6. Jesuit (10-3-3)
7. East Bay (9-2-1)
8. Steinbrenner (9-1-1)
9. Wharton (6-3-2)
10. Berkeley Prep (7-6-0)

GIRLS

1. Plant (18-1-1)
2. Berkeley Prep (12-4-2)
3. Bloomingdale (12-4-2)
4. Newsome (12-3-3)
5. Steinbrenner (13-0-2)
6. East Bay (11-3-2)
7. Wharton (9-6-3)
8. Freedom (9-3-3)
9. Tampa Prep (9-5-4)
10. Hillsborough (11-2-1)

Colleges: Four Bulls called into Canadian U-20 camp

2010-01-10T07:19:00.001-08:00

Four players from the University of South Florida have been named as part of a 23-player roster for the Canadian Under-20 team’s final training camp for the Under-20 World Cup CONCACAF qualifying competition that begins on Jan. 20 in Guatemala.

Defender Bahar Sansar and midfielders Taylor Patterson, Rehana Murani and Gina Pacheco were all named to the squad by Coach Carolina Morace. The final squad will be made up of 20 players, who will be named at the completion of the camp, to begin on Monday at the University of South Florida.

Canada has qualified for all four prior under-20 World Cups, reaching the final when it hosted the inaugural event in 2002. The 2010 finals will be held in Germany beginning in July.

All four Bulls were called into the last Canadian camp, held in Fort Lauderdale last month. Sansar and Pacheco have also had experience with the full Canadian National team, being called into the squad last summer for a pair of friendlies against the United States.

Preps: Buccaneers make statement in win against Terrapins

2010-01-09T22:30:00.000-08:00

TAMPA – Have Berkeley Prep’s boys re-found their identity?

Another couple of performances like the 4-1 victory against Tampa Prep would confirm it, but the Buccaneers win on Saturday would lead you to think it was very close to being so.

The Buccaneers struck early and late in the first half, taking the lead in the second minute as Andrew Harvey scored at the far post after a cross from the right by Jordan Tannenbaum.

Both sides exchanged chances following that, Alex Cardoso having a side-footed volley saved and Aaron Burrell shooting over for the Terrapins and Jake Felman having his free kick towards the right corner saved for the Buccaneers, but as the half wore on the work being done by Felman and Tanner Bailey in the Buccaneers midfield allowed their side to take control. Having to replace former Bucs standouts Joey Rosati and Eri Jacobs has been a big task for the Buccaneers midfield as a whole, but Felman said he thought the side was getting close to where it needed to be.

“It’s tough replacing players like Joey and Eri,” Felman said. “For us to come in and take over, it’s taken some getting used to, but I think that at this time of the season we’re going to find that. We started it today, and hopefully we’ll be able to continue that for the rest of the year.”

T.J. Roehn almost took advantage of his midfield’s play just before halftime, a good through ball opening up the Terrapins defense, only for Roehn’s wicked shot to be turned over the crossbar. From the ensuing corner, though, Auston Chen rose at the right side of the penalty area and headed back across goal, finding Chris Murphy, who headed into the top-right corner of the net.

Conceding a second goal just before the break appeared to deflate the Terrapins, who were without both center back Travis Simmons and midfielder Anthony Bauman. Terrapins coach Doug Smith said he thought his side didn’t play well inside either penalty area.

“That’s something we need to clean up defensively,” Smith said. “Overall, we played fairly well, we just had some lapses in front of their net and in front of our net, and that was the difference in the game.”

As evidenced by his earlier chance, Roehn had already been dangerous in the first half, but with the Terrapins pushing forward to try and get back in the game after the break, it opened up space for him to roam. He almost got on the score sheet early in the second half, his run from the left cutting into the penalty area resulting in a right-footed shot that just whistled past the right post, but in the 56th minute he capitalized on a Terrapins defensive error, flicking his finish into the net with the outside of his left foot.

Five minute later, Wes Sever pulled a goal back for the Terrapins as he scored on the rebound after Berkeley’s goalkeeper saved, but then lost, his initial shot. Roehn restored the three-goal cushion a minute later, though, tapping in from close range after the Terrapins goalkeeper had mishandled a cross from the right.

The Buccaneers came from two goals down on Friday night to tie North Broward Prep 3-3, and close out their district schedule on Tuesday night against St. Petersburg Catholic before a road-trip to Jacksonville next weekend to face Episcopal, and a rematch of last season’s Class 3A state final against Bolles. Coach Tim Cooper will certainly hope his side can maintain its momentum as the playoffs beckon in a little over two weeks.

“For us to come out and put in a good solid performance, especially coming back against a very good team last night, … I think it will help their confidence as we push forward towards the postseason,” Cooper said.

Earlier in the afternoon, Berkeley’s girls scored a convincing 3-0 victory as Taylor Richardson, Megan Williams and Sam Newhaller all found the net.

Richardson gave the Buccaneers the lead in the ninth minute, and the Buccaneers doubled their lead seven minutes later through Williams.

Richardson, Newhaller and Amber Famiglietti were excellent for the Buccaneers, as was Danielle Manning, who created Newhaller’s goal on the hour-mark. Manning made a strong run down the right and cut her cross back to Newhaller, who recovered the rebound after her initial shot was blocked, and she fired home low for a 3-0 lead.

Richardson said that defeating the Terrapins was a good feeling, especially for the Buccaneers’ seniors.

“It’s the senior's last (Headmaster’s Challenge), it’s the last time we'll play Tampa Prep as a team, so it was definitely a game we wanted to win,” Richardson said. “Our team usually works where once we score one, we are able to get into a rhythm and score some more.”

Terrapins coach Cindy Schofield was disappointed with her side’s lack of composure, as the Terrapins gave away possession cheaply, giving forward Colby Maffei little opportunity in the attacking third.

“We just panicked the entire game,” Schofield said. “We weren’t composed. I kept telling them, ‘just calm down,’ I don’t know if it was the nerves because it’s the Headmaster’s playing a very good Berkeley team, we just weren’t us today.”

Preps: Plant City seals No.1 seed, Berkeley vs. Tampa Prep today

2010-01-09T07:52:00.000-08:00

While Steinbrenner’s victory against Jesuit was probably the most eye-opening result from Friday night, another pair of teams sealed the No.1 seeds for the district tournaments.

Plant City remained undefeated with a 3-0 win against Durant to give the Raiders the No.1 seed in Class 5A-District 8, with Newsome’s 8-0 win against Tampa Bay Tech putting the Wolves in the No.2 slot. The St. Petersburg Times’ Brandon Wright was at the game, and filed this report.

http://bit.ly/4Ass3u

Plant also took the No.1 seed in Class 6A-District 8 with a 5-1 win against Alonso. According to Ravens coach Alan Turnquist, his side was without its starting goalkeeper, but he added that the outcome of the game would still likely have gone the Panthers way as they put together a performance coach Chris Carbon was very pleased with.

Elsewhere, Sickles completed a perfect run through its Class 5A-District 9 with a 1-0 win against King, Tyler Deming scoring the only goal, while Bloomingdale earned a 3-1 victory against Brandon in Class 5A-8.

On the girls side, Freedom recorded a good win against Gaither in Class 5A-District 9, Jenna Stiling picking up a goal and an assist for the Patriots as they rallied from a goal down to win. The Tampa Tribune’s Jarrett Guthrie was at the game, and filed this report.

http://bit.ly/7cSaOu

Today’s schedule sees Berkeley Prep and Tampa Prep face off at the Headmaster’s Challenge, with the girls game scheduled for noon and the boys for 1:45 p.m. The TBSB will be at both games, and will be providing live updates on the TBSB twitter feed – twitter.com/tbsoccerblog -- if you’re not able to get out to the games.

Preps: Ortiz, Steinbrenner stun Jesuit, earn No.1 seed

2010-01-08T19:36:00.000-08:00

LUTZ – Steinbrenner boys soccer coach Chad Ebright was expecting his side’s game against Jesuit to be a measuring stick as to where his side was in its first season.

After the opening minute, the Warriors weren’t measuring up well, going behind to a goal by the Tigers’ Michael Cadavid.

“I’m thinking that the wheels can come off the cart very easily,” Ebright said of the start to the game.

But while the Tigers continued to press forward, the Warriors held strong defensively and a pair of goals by freshman Oli Ortiz, his second coming with eight minutes to go, gave Steinbrenner a 2-1 victory and the No.1 seed for the Class 4A-District 9 tournament.

Gaining confidence as the second half went on, Ortiz picked up a pass down the right from Logan Siben 40 yards out, and attacked his defender one-on-one. Ortiz then feinted to go left before cutting onto his right foot and curling a beautiful shot into the net from 20 yards out for his ninth of the season.

“My dad taught me that,” Ortiz said. “Make him go (left), then cutting him back and taking a shot.”

Ortiz produced just as good a finish in the 13th minute to get the Warriors back on even terms, running onto a pass from Philip Jorge before chipping his shot over the advancing goalkeeper into the vacant net.

Jesuit almost retook the lead a minute later, but the Warriors were able to clear the ball to safety after a scramble in their penalty area. Tiger midfielder Stephen Gathman then went close, his flicked header going just wide off a corner, and Brett Durrance saw his deflected shot go just wide as the Tigers had the better of the play in the first half.

That didn’t prevent the Warriors from carving out chances of their own, though, and Davi Martins had his shot well saved after he controlled a header by Ortiz in the penalty area before weaving past a pair of defenders to create an opening.

The Tigers then missed a pair of golden opportunities to take the lead, one coming either side of halftime. Six minutes before the break a low cross from the left was spooned over the crossbar by Chris Conlon from close-range, and then two minutes into the second half Tyler Hartlage shot high from eight yards out with the goal at his mercy after an excellent low cross by Durrance. Jesuit coach Bob Bauman was disappointed with the lack of finishing and with the effort from his side.

“I think the biggest thing was that we didn’t show up,” Bauman said. “We scored a goal and we let up and we never got back in the game. Once they scored, it got their confidence up and we missed our chances early in the second half and they took their chance late in the second half. You’ve got to hand it to them, they were two terrific goals, two stunning goals, but they came from mistakes we made.”

As disappointed as the Tigers were, the Warriors were elated, the entire bench rushing onto the field at the final whistle to celebrate completing a perfect 8-0-0 run through their district schedule. Ebright said getting the No.1 seed for the district tournament was an important step, as it should provide an easier path to a district title, and the region tournament.

“Our goal at the beginning of the season was to become the No.1 seed in the district, that was our early goal,” Ebright said. “I’m proud of the boys, I’m proud of the way we played, and we came out here to do a job, and that’s what we did. We say it every day in practice, we’re here to do a job, and that’s what we got done tonight. We came out here against a very talented team, and we played very well.”

Youth: Cote ousted from RSL Florida

2010-01-08T14:43:00.000-08:00

Jim Cote is no longer the Girls Directors of Coaching for RSL Florida Soccer Club after being asked to resign by the club’s Board of Directors earlier this week.

Cote, whose girls under-18 side went 4-0 in the Predator division of the Disney Soccer Showcase last week, said he was shocked when the board asked for his resignation. Cote became the DOC when current University of Tampa head coach Adrian Bush resigned his position with the club in August 2008.

“When I took over for (Bush), the club had started to falter a little bit,” Cote said. “They asked me to step in, I stepped in, there were still major concerns at the club, and I did what I was asked to do. I hired seven new age-group coaches on the boy’s side, I put in coordinators to make the training under the proper structure. You’re going to ruffle some feathers along the way because it’s part of the job. People aren’t going to want to just change, but you have to change in order to be able to develop.”

RSL Florida Club Administrator Ellen LaVielle said via e-mail that RSL President David Laxer was travelling, and unavailable to comment until Monday. The board is holding a meeting on Sunday at 6:30 p.m. at the Bern’s Steakhouse business offices, neat Bern’s in South Tampa, and Cote said he will be allowed to make a statement at that meeting. Cote also said he has received great support from the parents and players since the decision was made, and hopes that the club’s season won’t be derailed with the FYSA State Cup beginning in late March.

Cote said that no matter what comes out of Sunday’s meeting, he will remain committed to the remainder of the season with the team’s he is involved with coaching.

“I made a commitment to those kids, and I won’t let them down, I’ll stay and coach the teams,” Cote said. “There was just no pre-warning, no forewarning. I was in Miami two weeks ago for the Orange Classic, I didn’t even have a team down there, I just went down to help because we had five teams down there, and the president never said a word to me about it the whole time. And they won’t give me a reason, I said ‘just give me a reason, that way I know what I’ve done wrong, and for future endeavors I can fix it,’ but there’s been no reason given. They’re just going in another direction.”

Preps: Steinbrenner to get to mark progress against Jesuit

2010-01-08T08:07:00.001-08:00

Steinbrenner High’s boys coach Chad Ebright didn’t know exactly what he should expect from his side when it began its inaugural season.

Tonight, though, the Warriors have a chance to see how far they’ve come as they face perennial power Jesuit with the No.1 seed in Class 4A-District 9 at stake. Steinbrenner can earn the No.1 seed with just a draw, but a win against the most storied program in Hillsborough County would certainly make a statement for the program.

“Our goal is to get our program mentioned with the top teams in the county,” Ebright said “The only way we can do that is to play the top teams in the county.”

The Warriors have played a limited schedule this season, with the bulk of their games coming against weak district opposition. The Warriors also lost 5-2 to Alonso, and drew with Freedom 2-2 in what where the two big non-district tests of the season, with a 2-0 win against Robinson in their last game before the holiday break putting them in position to earn the No.1 district seed.

Jesuit tied Robinson 2-2 earlier in the season, leaving it behind Steinbrenner in the 4A-9 standings, doing everything by find a game-winner in the second half of the contest. The Tigers now appear to be back to their regular form, the only loss since a 4-3 defeat to Tampa Prep on Nov.18 coming against ESPN Rise No.4 New Orleans Jesuit in the High School Classic.

As intimidating as Jesuit can be, Ebright believes the most important thing for his players to realize before the game is that they aren’t playing the Tigers’ history.

“My job is to make sure the boys realize we’re not playing the history of Jesuit, we’re playing the 2009-10 team only,” Ebright said. “We need to step onto the field understanding that that’s who we’re playing against, we’re not playing against their history. As far as the play on the field goes, we need to do the best job we can to control the pace of the game, and hopefully get Jesuit to play our game and not vice-versa.”

Rowdies: NASL/USL reach deal, now come details on the Rowdies?

2010-01-07T22:58:00.001-08:00

Here's the slightly longer online version of the story I wrote earlier this evening for the Tampa Tribune.

With the league's status being up in the air to this point, the rest of the franchise's plans have been stuck in neutral. I was told earlier today, though, that the Rowdies were going to be making plans for a big press conference by the end of the month, at which point everything should become clear.

In my mind, it is going to be crucial for that to happen. For a while now, announcements have been meant to be just around the corner. When Paul Dalglish was installed as manager, it was said that stadium plans were going to be coming soon. As it stands, they still are.

As much as this was being stressed as a long-term project during today's conference call, it feels as though getting off on the right foot in their opening season is going to be critical for the Rowdies to succeed. Other franchises in the USSF Second Division, or whatever its official name will end up being, like Rochester, Puerto Rico, Portland to name three in the Rowdies division, were already established as USL franchises. One of those franchises, Portland, will move up to MLS in 2011 in part because of the following the Timbers have in the Pacific Northwest, averaging over 9,000 fans per game in the USL last season.

The Rowdies don't have that luxury yet, and if they are to earn it and reach those kinds of attendence figures it is imperitive they get plans out in the open, and give local fans confidence this can be a success.

Preps: Home field an advantage for Plant boys

2010-01-07T18:54:00.001-08:00

Predicting the way results were going to go in Class 6A-District 8 has been difficult all season. The competitiveness within the district leaves a side like Plant looking at anything from a No.1 seed to a No.4 seed for the district tournament depending on how results go in the final round of games on Friday.

“We’re all very close in caliber,” Plant coach Chris Carbon said. “It’s a really, really tight district. Wharton’s an excellent team, we’re all excellent teams in this district, so it’s really anyone's game any time we play. There’s no sure thing.”

As close to a sure a thing as there has been, though, is the Panthers on their home turf. The Panthers have won all three of their home district games so far this season, and will look to continue that against Alonso on Friday. With the Dad’s Field surface a particularly difficult one to play on, Carbon says understanding how to play on it is an important edge for his side.

“It’s not in the greatest condition,” Carbon said. “It’s very unique in the way the ball behaves and the fact of the matter is we’re very accustomed to it because we play on it, we practice on it, play on it, and I think other teams have trouble adapting to it.”

Carbon took over the Panthers program last season, but the work he and the side hasn’t paid off until this year. Carbon said that was due to he and the players getting used to each other, but he has been impressed with the way his side has matured, with an increased sense of responsibility and leadership running through the side. Now Carbon believes it is important for his side to earn the No.1 seed in their district, and earn a little respect as a result.

“Last year, we were referred to as a struggling program, an inexperienced team, a young team,” Carbon said. “A lot of the coaches around the area, it took a while for them to gain a degree of respect for us this year. I’d like to go into the tournament as a first seed, and I’d like to win the tournament as a first seed. That way, there’s nothing you can take away from it, you can’t say we made a comeback, it’s dominance from start to finish.”

Preps: Maffei stays hot to lead Tampa Prep

2010-01-07T08:23:00.001-08:00

As noted on the twitter feed last night -- what, you’re not a follower yet? www.twitter.com/tbsoccerblog -- Colby Maffei is having an outstanding season. She scored twice last night, and the St. Petersburg Times’ Izzy Gould was at the game.

http://hometeam.tampabay.com/blog/2010/jan/06/2083-very-early-propels-tampa-prep-past-mitchell-3-0-in-girls-soccer/

I and my Tribune colleague Jarrett Guthrie also put out our weekly prep notebook, with a little more detail on the top of the Class 5A-District 8 between Durant, Newsome and Plant City, and Durant’s recent run, plus a look ahead to the girls soccer match-up between Tampa Prep and Berkeley Prep at this weekend’s Headmaster’s Challenge.

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/jan/07/sp-cougars-raiders-a-big-district-match/sports-prepsports/

It was a light schedule last night, and is again tonight, but Steinbrenner’s girls will look to continue their run at an undefeated regular season at they face Leto at 6 p.m., making it the game to watch on tonight's schedule.

Preps: East Lake boys earns victory, Durant, Newsome fight for position

2010-01-06T08:15:00.001-08:00

East Lake’s boys moved one step closer to a Pinellas County Athletic Conference title with a win against Seminole last night. The St. Petersburg Times’ Bryan Burns was at the game, and filed this report, which also includes round-ups from Palm Harbor and Countryside boys and girls games, and details of a good district win for Berkeley Prep’s girls.

http://hometeam.tampabay.com/blog/2010/jan/06/county-roundup-east-lake-closer-pcac-title/

Elsewhere on the boys side, Durant moved its winning streak to five games with a 4-0 win against Tampa Bay Tech, all four goals coming in the second half as Billy Fanning struck twice to give him 16 goals on the season. The Cougars have the same record as Newsome in district (3-0-2), which defeated Armwood 5-0 on Tuesday, Carlos Galeano scoring twice for the Wolves. The two teams tied 3-3 when they met earlier in the season, but Newsome would appear to have the upper hand in securing the No.2 seed for the 5A-District 8 tournament as it hosts Tampa Bay Tech in its final district game, while Durant has to face current district leader Plant City on Friday.

In Class 6A-District 8, Bloomingdale and Wharton played to a 2-2 tie, opening the door for Plant to earn the No.1 seed in the district tournament. To earn it, the Panthers would need to defeat current third-placed side Alonso on Friday night.

On the girl’s side, Gaither took an impressive 2-0 win against Sickles though goals by Madison Henriquez and Ashley Acco. Bloomingdale also earned a convincing 6-0 victory against Wharton, freshman Elyse Fontecchio scoring a hat trick.

Preps: Sickles earns victory, No.1 seed

2010-01-05T20:55:00.000-08:00

TAMPA – Sickles earned a hard fought 2-1 victory against rival Gaither on Tuesday night, clinching the No.1 seed for the Class 5A-District 9 tournament in the process in the first victory for the Gryphons seniors against the Cowboys.

The high-paced game provided many opportunities, but it was the long throw-ins by both sides that led to goals, the game-winner coming in the 57th minute as a throw-in from the left side went into the Gaither 6-yard box. The Cowboys were unable to clear the danger, and in the ensuing scramble the ball ended up in the net.

The lack of style points on what proved to be the game-winning goal didn’t matter to the Gryphons, who had to fend off a pair of late chances to preserve their win. Sickles goalkeeper Brandon Stout first came off his line to block a shot by Josh Santos, and Gaither’s Zach Wheeler shot wide just before the final whistle.

The Gryphons bench streamed onto the field in celebration at the final whistle after finally defeating their biggest rival.

“It’s a huge momentum boost,” Sickles defender Eric Krukar said. “There was a big burden on our backs this season and for the past four years, and we finally overcame it. It’s a huge burden lifted off our shoulders.”

The game was everything you would expect from a heated district and area rivalry, with both sides having half-chances early in the game to open the scoring. Gaither’s Ryan Foerstner went close to opening the scoring, but was unable to control a flick with the outside of his right boot, sending it over the crossbar off a long throw-in by David Barrientos. Sickles also had a good opportunity when a raking ball across the field found Matt Brown on the right, but he shot over from just inside the penalty area.

Gaither then could have taken the lead five minutes before halftime, Jordan See turning his defender well before putting a low ball into the center of the penalty area to Justin Santos, but Santos could only lift his shot over the bar from eight yards out.

Sickles took advantage of the reprieve a minute later as a long throw-in from the left was flicked on at the near post and Krukar poked his shot in from close range. Long throw-ins and corners have been a major part of Sickles’ attack this season, something Krukar said comes from the coaching and work the side does in practice.

“It’s really coaching,” Krukar said. “We execute the plays our coaches tell us to run in practice, and we execute it on the field.”

The Cowboys tied the game in the 53rd minute, a long throw from the right by Barrientos going to the top of the Gryphons’ 6-yard box. A Sickles defender tried to flick the ball away to safety, but instead saw it go into the far side of the net.

That didn’t appear to deter the Gryphons, who continued to push forward even after retaking the lead four minutes later. Gaither goalkeeper John Nardozzi had to make an excellent double-save to keep the score 2-1 with just under 10 minutes to go, and Joey Ltief shot wide with just under five minute left, slamming the ground with his hand after failing to hit the target.

The missed opportunities didn’t come back to haunt the Gryphons, though, as they remained perfect in district play.

“It’s one of those game that was very well played on both sides,” Sickles coach Tony Calvo said. “Gaither has always had a great program, but I think the boys, this is a very good win for them.”

Gaither had held a 4-0-1 mark in the past three season against Sickles, but were without starters Charlie Delmar and Steffan Seibel-Cortopassi which led to a lack of control in the center of midfield. The Cowboys will need to defeat Freedom on Friday night to assure themselves of the No.2 seed in the district. Cowboys captain See said that the Gryphons’ victory will only intensify the rivalry should the two sides meet again in the district tournament.

“It’s definitely feeds the fire that we’re going to want this a lot more,” See said. “Now that they did beat us, we want to give it back the next time we play them.”

Preps: Sickles boys edge up to No.31 in ESPN Rise poll

2010-01-05T14:00:00.000-08:00

Sickles received a slight bump up to No.31 in the ESPN Rise Fab 50 poll released on Tuesday afternoon ahead of its crucial game against Class 5A-District 9 rivals Gaither tonight.

The Gryphons have only lost once so far this season, that coming to No.4 New Orleans Jesuit in the High School Classic just before the holiday break. Sickles is 4-0-0 in its district, and with a win tonight would secure the No.1 seed for the district tournament in three weeks.

East Lake was the other local team to earn recognition in the boys poll, coming in at No.41 with its 10-1-2 record. The Eagles host Seminole tonight in an important Class 5A-District 11 match-up.

Palm Harbor University is the only area the girls programs to be ranked this week, coming in at No.25. The defending Class 5A champions, now in 6A, are undefeated on the season at 9-0-1. Led by Catherine Brinkman and Zoe Lombard, the Hurricanes face Countryside tonight before hosting Tarpon Springs on Thursday and travelling to Sarasota Riverview on Friday.

Preps: Good news, bad news for Countryside

2010-01-04T22:27:00.000-08:00

The St. Petersburg Times' Bryan Burns reported on Monday that Countryside coach Dave Sice had his suspension for a red card against East Lake on Dec. 19 reduced to just three weeks, but forward Nikolai Hammer will have to sit out the full six weeks for his ejection in the same game.

http://hometeam.tampabay.com/blog/2010/jan/04/countrysides-sica-has-suspension-reduced-three-weeks/

Hammer would be eligible to play if the Cougars made it to the Class 6A-District 7 championship game, while Sica should be on the sideline this Friday when Countryside faces Sarasota.

While having Hammer unavailable for the start of the district tournament, the Cougars performance without him and Kyle Eichof at the High School Classic where they reached the quarterfinals should give them hope that they can get to the district final, and thus a place in the region tournament, without their standout playmaker.

5 Questions With ... Nick Patterson

2010-01-04T22:14:00.001-08:00

East Lake and Hillsborough County United's Nick Patterson committed to Florida Gulf Coast last month, and scored five goals in four games at the Disney Soccer Showcase last week, so it seemed like a good time for the TBSB to have a quick chat with the prolific scorer.

TBSB: What made you decide on Florida Gulf Coast?

Patterson: It was my No.1 choice. I've liked them since sophomore year when I started looking at colleges. They have the major I want (forensic science), so this is my No.1 choice.

TBSB: What is the biggest challenge East Lake faces this season?

Patterson: We have what it takes to make it to state as far as keeping our composure and not having any slip-ups.

TBSB: What makes a great goalscorer?

Patterson: Just having the heart to play. Always going after the ball, always looking to score.

TBSB: What do you think your best attribute is?

Patterson: Probably my speed, because I can get to the ball real quick and catch people off guard.

TBSB: If you could choose anyone to play you in a movie, who would it be and why?

Patterson: I'd have to go with Will Smith, because he's my favorite actor.