Mitchell's Rockwell takes Gatorade Player of the Year Award

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.

Preps: Mitchell earns state championship

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

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

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

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.

Preps: Panthers' stunning victory highlights region quarterfinals

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.

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

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.

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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.

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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.

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Preps: Countryside takes advantage of opportunity, will face Palm Harbor in Classic quarterfinals

TAMPA – After seeing Orangewood Christian grab victory late on Saturday afternoon, the potential for Countryside to reach the knock-out stages of the High School Soccer Classic appeared dim.

But a 3-1 win by Gulf Breeze against Orangewood opened the door for the Cougars, and a pair of second half strikes by Max Seijo allowed them to walk right through, a 3-1 win moving Countryside into the tournament quarterfinals on goal difference and a game against Palm Harbor on Tuesday at noon.

“The guys fought really hard,” assistant coach Colby Beckman said. Beckman and the remaining Countryside assistants were present in place of head coach Dave Sica, who was ejected from Friday night’s regular season game against East Lake. “Max has been a great player. Up top, he holds the ball up very well, and some of the finishing has been where he has struggled lately, but he showed the type of player he is today.”

The Cougars, who entered the game knowing they needed a two-goal victory to advance, got off to a great start as a counter-attack from a Gulf Breeze corner was finished off by Nino Hadzialic. The Cougars then added a second goal through Seijo, who finished well from inside the penalty area.

Gulf Breeze then pushed forward, knowing just a goal would send it through, and not Countryside, and the Dolphins got their goal shortly after the second half water break. But Seijo added his second with seven minutes to go, finishing a cross by Derya Ekren well to restore the two-goal lead the Cougars needed.

The Cougars will face Pinellas rival Palm Harbor in the quarterfinals, the Hurricanes getting goals from Robby Mattei and Ben Sweat to defeat Clearwater Central Catholic 2-0. Beckman said he was looking forward to taking on a local rival for a place in the semifinals.

“Palm Harbor is nothing new to us,” Beckman said. “We always get up to play those guys, they’ve been a rival since I played here in the early 2000’s. Their coach Alex Delgado is a great friend, and we always enjoy playing Palm Harbor.”

Land O’ Lakes joined the Cougars and Hurricanes in the quarterfinals with an impressive 5-0 victory against Sarasota. Tim Falcon, Nate Dalton, Justin Lyles, Andy Garcia and Evan Reidy all got their names on the scoresheet for the Gators, who will play Orlando Bishop Moore in the quarterfinals.

“We got a lot of people in, got some people some extra playing time and got some rest for the starters,” Gators coach Mark Pearson said. “It was a good team win, we didn’t let down at all, did very well, I was very pleased.”

Orlando Bishop Moore advanced at the expense of Tampa Prep, handing the Terrapins their first loss of the season as goals by Connor Keymont and Claude Daigler gave the Hornets victory. Zack Hebert pulled a goal back with around 20 minutes to go for the Terrapins, but while Jake Peterson and Twain Glaser hit the woodwork late in the first and second half respectively, Terps coach Doug Smith thought the Hornets deserved their win.

“It’s tough to play two games in one day, but we got outworked, particularly in the first half,” Smith said. “We were getting beaten to every ball, every second ball, we were losing all the tackles, and frankly that set the tone for the game. Our effort in the second half was good, and we did do a better job, but it was almost too late by that time to remedy some of the stuff that had happened in the first half.”

Tampa Prep had earlier defeated Gaither in a shootout to eliminate the Cowboys after a goal by Travis Simmons in the 74th minute had given the Terrapins a 2-2 tie in regulation. A victory against the Hornets would have sent the Terps through, but they were unable to find a way to win.

Mitchell came close to joining Pasco county counterpart Land O’ Lakes in the quarterfinals, but lost an early two-goal lead before falling in a penalty shootout to Orlando Dr. Phillips 5-3 after the game ended in a 2-2 tie. With both the Mustangs and Panthers having defeated Jacksonville Stanton Prep, the two teams entered the game tied with three points apiece.

David Vasquez and Max Rockwell had goals within the first six minutes for the Mustangs, but the Panthers rallied through Shawn Moffitt and Devin Boshears to send the game to a shootout. Mustangs coach Oscar Ubillus said he thought his side let down after gaining such a quick two-goal lead.

“Definitely there was,” Ubillus said. “I told them at halftime that might have been the worst thing that could have happened because then they were forced to come out. They got that first goal,not really earned because out ‘keeper made a mistake, and then beat us on a run for the second goal, but they really outplayed us for the rest of the first half.”

Jesuit was eliminated before it took the field on Monday night, New Orleans Jesuit having already won the group with a shootout win against Fort Myers Bishop Verot, but the Tigers did defeat Verot’s shutout streak, earning a 2-0 win in the process. Berkeley Prep had a chance to advance, but dropped an early lead against Melbourne to send the Bulldogs into the quarterfinals with a 2-1 win. The Buccaneers managed the same feat against Seminole, holding a 1-0 lead at the break before falling 2-1.

Can't make it to the Ed Radice Sports Complex for today's quarterfinals and semifinals? Just join the Tampa Bay Soccer Blog on Twitter at twitter.com/tbsoccerblog for updates from all of the day's action in the championship bracket.