Special to The Laker/Lutz News

By Zack Peterson

Laker/Lutz News Correspondent

All season, the Steinbrenner High girls soccer team strove to achieve its lofty vision reaching the Class 4A state tournament. The Warriors met their goal with a 1-0 victory against Naples Barron Collier Feb. 4.

“It was a physical battle,” Steinbrenner coach Teresa Patterson said. “But in just year two (as a program), it’s amazing.”

Despite a rough, physical match-up from Barron Collier, the Warriors (19-2-2) persevered, outshooting the Cougar’s 14-3 with the one and only goal coming in the 38th minute. Cici Gonzalez took a free kick that ricocheted off the cross bar that barely missed the net, but teammate Danielle Eule was there with the header to knock it in.

“We really wanted to attack down the sideline a lot to pull the keeper out,” Eule said. “Our goal was to keep pushing downhill and win the 50/50 balls.”

Along with the intense offensive push, the Warrior’s cracked down on defense as well. With their dual keeper approach, Steinbrenner managed to anticipate Barron Collier’s offensive scheme, and combated it effectively. It was just a matter of playing to their strengths.

“We feel really comfortable with our two great goalies Stephanie Hirsch and Courtney Keene,” Patterson said. “Steph plays great at outside balls and that’s what we expected.”

The shutout was Hirsch’s 20th of the year, and was crucial in the victory. In a second half that included furious, rough play and yellow cards, the solid defense was monumental.

When the clock finally dwindled to zero, the Warriors earned a spot in the final four.

“This is one of the biggest things for us,” Eule said. “But we knew that if we worked hard, this would happen.”

All the hard work culminates in the finals tournament that will take place at University of Tampa (UT). Up first for the Warriors is Harmony High, a team from the Orlando area.

The Warriors will look to use the 80-foot-wide field at UT to their advantage.

“We’re a really technical team and we like to pass,” Patterson said. “The wider fields will help our own play.”

And according to Patterson, it will help with the pressure too.

“I told the kids we’ve gone one step further than last year,” Patterson said. “This was the goal and now that we’re here I just told them to play free and do their best.”

Eule summed it up: “We’re going to continue practicing hard, going in strong and giving it everything we’ve got.”

By Kyle LoJacono

The Wiregrass Ranch girls soccer team came up one game short of the final four, dropping the Class 4A regional finals 4-0 to Harmony High Feb. 4.

The Longhorns (18-1) scored all of their goals off set pieces, including cashing in the first three corner kicks of the contest.

“We did well in open play, but the set pieces just killed us and not being able to put it in the back of the net ourselves wasn’t helpful either” said Wiregrass Ranch first-year coach Erin Dodd.

All season, the Bulls (23-3-2) had been able to set up their speedy forwards with on target passes from midfielders, but Wiregrass Ranch seemed to be just a half step off all evening.

“That’s really what it seemed like,” Dodd said. “I don’t feel like we played our best soccer. I felt like Harmony played with a little more intensity then we did, and we just couldn’t get it done.”

Dodd also said Harmony was the first team that was able to match their speed, shutting the Bulls out for only the second time this season. The Longhorns held A.J. Blount and Berlin Waters, who had 61 goals combined this year, to just three shots total.

“Their team was fast, and maybe just one step faster,” Dodd said.

The Longhorns got on the board in the 10th minute when Kaley Ward sent a corner kick from the left side that was headed in by Payton Leffew. Less than five minutes later, Ward set up Caitlin Beam on a nearly identical play.

Ward added the third tally herself off a corner kick in the second half that bounced off Bulls goalkeeper Dayton Wetherby and the crossbar before going in. Kendall Pollock added the final goal off a free kick from 40 yards out.

In the regional semifinals three nights before, Wiregrass Ranch defeated district revival River Ridge High 2-1. Blount scored both goals in the contest.

Despite coming up short in the regional finals, the Bulls had their first 20-win season, won their first game in a district tournament en route to the Class 4A-District 8 championship and won two games in regionals.

“Everything has just been happening so fast and I don’t think any of us have had an opportunity to sit down and realize what we’ve accomplished,” Dodd said. “They’re upset now, but once they have some time off and they look back on the season, they’ll realize they need to hold their heads high and be proud because it was a great season.”

As a sendoff, Dodd subbed in all six of her seniors to close the game. She said she wanted to make sure they all got a chance to end their playing time on the field.

By Kyle LoJacono

The Gaither High girls soccer team reached a regional final for just the second time in the school’s 26-year history, but could not get past Seminole High.

The Cowboys (12-6-2) dropped the road matchup in the Class 5A regional finals 3-0 Feb. 4. The Warhawks (22-2-1) got on the board in the 20th minute and added the two insurance goals in the second half.

In the semifinals, Gaither got past Naples Gulf Coast 1-0 on a penalty kick in the final minute of the second overtime. Junior Kelly Cuppett took the shot and found a hole just off the fingertips of the Shark’s goalkeeper to give the Cowboys the sudden-death victory.

“I was just so happy that I could do that for the seniors,” Cuppett said. “They’ve meant a lot to me this year and we’re really close. I was just really glad that I could be the one to keep it going.”

Gaither had several chances in the second half to get on the scoreboard, including hitting the crossbar and the left post. Cowboys second-year coach Trevor Scott said he was proud the team shook off those near misses and kept fighting.

“You have to play with heart to keep going and, luck of the draw, we got a PK and got it,” Scott said. “The team has worked so hard to this point. They practice hard and we were already ready to take PKs again if we needed. They all want to keep going. No one is thinking I’ve had enough.”

Freshman goalkeeper Amanda High kept the Sharks (14-4-3) off the scoreboard, recording 10 saves on the night.

“I was just hoping for no PKs,” High said. “I didn’t want it to get to that point.”

Despite coming up one game shy of the final four, Gaither reached the regional finals for the first time since the 2003-04 season.

The Cowboys have only four seniors on their roster. Among those graduating are Lauren Moore and Caity Chandler, who were first and third on the squad with 13 and 10 goals respectively. Gaither is likely to return second-leading scorer Taylor Meek, who had 12 scores, and Kaycee McGuire who had a team-high 10 assists.

“It’s been an amazing season,” Scott said after the semifinals win. “We feel like we’ve got things turned around here and we want to make this a more regular thing. I’m hoping we don’t take five or six years to get back to regionals.”

Patriots survive scare in semifinals from Hillsborough

By Kyle LoJacono

It was almost a repeat of last year when the Freedom High girls basketball team suffered an early exit in the Class 5A-District 9 tournament.

With 2.7 seconds left in overtime in the district semifinals Feb. 2, Patriots senior point guard Kaitlynn Pacholke stepped to the line and nailed a free throw, giving her squad a 53-52 lead against Hillsborough High.

Freedom (20-5) held on to win by the same score, avenging a loss to the Terriers (9-13) in last year’s district tournament that ended its season. The Patriots went on to defeat Sickles High 68-65 in the finals Feb. 4.

“That wasn’t a very pretty game for us,” said Freedom coach Laurie Pacholke after the semifinals. “We missed a lot of free throws and let them hang in there. I was having visions of last year.”

The Patriots were the No. 1 seed in the tournament at Gaither High, going 9-1 in the district during the regular season. However, the No. 2 seed Gryphons entered the event winning eight of their last nine contests and as a much more explosive squad than the one Freedom defeated 69-32 in December.

The Gryphons (16-10) had some injuries to starters this year, including leading scorers Amber Henson and Bre Crum.

“They have some good players in Henson and Crum, but I think we have more options and work together better as a team,” Laurie said, who coached at Land O’ Lakes two seasons ago.

Kaitlynn, who is Laurie’s daughter, helps create that balanced team attack with her passes. She averages 8.6 assists per contest, the fourth most in Florida, while adding 15.4 points and 5.6 rebounds.

In the title game, Kaitlynn had 26 points, while senior Lindsay Taggart and junior Shade Williams added 14 and 17 respectively.

Henson led the way for Sickles in the finals with 31 points and Crum added 23, but the Gryphons got only 11 points from other players.

Freedom will next host Punta Gorda Charlotte at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 10.

By Kyle LoJacono

Despite having two new starters and a new coach, the Land O’ Lakes High girls basketball team brought home the Class 4A-District 8 championship with a 58-53 win against Citrus High Feb. 5.

The Gators (23-2) were led by sophomore Simone Brown, a Wesley Chapel High transfer, who poured in 27 points including 15 in the fourth quarter. Senior guard Julia Della Penna added 14 to the scoreboard, nearly double her season average.

“It’s been a learning experience for us all,” said Land O’ Lakes first-year coach Laurie Fitzpatrick. “I had to learn what the girls did well and how to make all the pieces fit together. We had some injuries early, which didn’t help that, but by the end we were really clicking and I think that showed.”

Fitzpatrick said most of her girls were sick during the tournament.

“Simone had to run to the trashcan during timeouts because she was getting sick,” Fitzpatrick said. “They weren’t going to let that stop them.”

The Gators took down Wiregrass Ranch 55-49 in the semifinals. Senior point guard Shanel Sweet, a Gaither High transfer, had 17 points in the contest and sunk her last six free throws in the closing minutes to keep her squad ahead.

“It was two games that came down to the very end,” Fitzpatrick said. “I was nervous. I was biting my nails in both games. The girls stepped up big time on a big stage.”

Land O’ Lakes will now host Mitchell High at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 10.

Wildcats get first district title

The Academy at the Lakes girls basketball team has come a long way from the squad that finished 0-15 last year

Karim Nohra was brought in to coach the Wildcats and installed a pressure defense that helped them defeat Keswick Christian 42-31 in the 1A-9 title game Feb. 5. The academy caused 25 turnovers in the contest.

Marjorie Rivera, an eighth grader, led the academy in scoring with 16 points while adding six assists.

In the semis, the Wildcats defeated one of Nohra’s former squads Cambridge Christian 54-32 thanks in large part to their defense, which held the Lancers to just one field goal in the first quarter.

The academy will next host Sarasota Christian at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 10.

By Kyle LoJacono

Each year, many high school seniors play with understanding they may never play their sport again after the season. Players on the Sunlake High softball team will not have that pressure this year.

The last two of the Seahawks’ five seniors signed college letters of intent Jan. 21. Ashley Orta will play at Santa Fe College next year, while Shelley Stohler picked Hillsborough County College.

“It’s definitely a relief for me,” Stohler said of signing. “Now I can go out and focus on my senior year on the field and in the classroom too.”

Orta never really sweated the issue.

“My mom (Corey) has always told me to just let things happen and not worry about it,” Orta said. “I figured if I was good enough, I’d get a chance.”

Orta is the first member of her family to go to college.

The two follow Tyler Riendeau, Alex Rogers and Amanda Solar who signed in November.

“It’s really cool to think that we’ll all be playing in college,” said Stohler, who has attended Sunlake all four of her years in high school. “Our first year we didn’t have a lot of girls. It’s grown and now we think we can really do well this season.”

The Seahawks were 15-10 in 2010. They were eliminated in the second round of the district tournament.

Both Orta and Stohler said they picked their schools because they are close to home and they liked the coaching staffs. Orta is not sure what she will study yet. Stohler is not 100 percent set either, but thinks it will be either engineering or business.

Orta, a first and third baseman, batted .220 with eight runs scored and three RBI last year. In the field she had a steady glove, recording only one error in 21 games.

Stohler, a catcher and third baseman, batted .267 with eight RBI in 2010. She also threw out 11 of 25 potential base stealers.

-All stats as recorded to Maxpreps.com by coaches.

Land O’ Lakes High athletics was well represented on national signing day Feb. 2 when seven Gator athletes signed their letters of intent to play in college.

Of the seven, two are girls soccer players. Morgan Crescent will stay in the Sunshine state and play at Eckerd College, while Tara Marshall will head to Georgia to play at Thomas University.

Crescent played multiple positions for the Gators last year, including some time as goalkeeper. Crescent’s versatility does not stop on the soccer pitch. She was also named the Sunshine Athletic Conference (SAC) Co-Player of the Year in volleyball this season and also to the All-Laker/All-Lutz News volleyball first team.

Marshall, a goalkeeper, received the bulk of the time in net for Land O’ Lakes, posting 177 saves and 10 shutouts this season.

The Gators girls soccer team went 12-6-3 this year, reaching the district semifinals.

Christopher Dotson was the lone cross country runner to sign Feb. 2, choosing to pound the pavement at Lee University in Tennessee. Dotson helped the Gators boys come in second place in the Class 3A regional meet this season and advance to the state competition where they finished 15th in Florida.

The Gators football squad had two athletes sign as well, wide receiver Will Irwin and offensive lineman T.J. Chamberlain. Both will play at Wofford College in South Carolina. The two helped Land O’ Lakes go 9-2 and extend its Pasco County record playoff appearance streak to 14 years.

Irwin led the Gators with 46 catches, 1,018 yards and 18 touchdowns. The 6-foot-2, 185-pounder earned first-team SAC honors and also made the All-Laker/All-Lutz News football offensive first team for his performance in 2010.

Chamberlain’s 6-foot-1, 225-pound frame allowed the Gators offense to flourish again in 2010, averaging 385.1 yards and 38.3 points per game.

Boys soccer players Justin Lyles, a midfielder and forward, and Kody Parker, a goalkeeper, made their intentions known several weeks ago, committing to Thomas University and the University of Tampa respectively. Parker will study international business in school, while Lyles plans on majoring in business and marketing.

Lyles and Parker helped the Land O’ Lakes program win their seventh straight district championship this season, the Sunshine Athletic Conference title and reach the regional quarterfinals.

By Kyle LoJacono

Offensive and defensive linemen do not usually get a lot attention, but two Gaither High seniors impressed enough to earn college scholarships.

Offensive guard Vasilios Nenos signed with Jacksonville University and defensive lineman Chad Hannah picked the University of Cincinnati. The two signed their letters of intent Feb. 2, national signing day.

“It’s always great to see kids sign with colleges,” said former Gaither football coach Mark Kantor, who stepped down following last season. “These two are very good at what they do and I’m proud to see that they’ll continue playing.”

The two were the 69th and 70th players to sign during Kantor’s nine-year tenure. Both Nenos and Hannah have only been varsity starters for one season.

Nenos said he relishes the role of springing his teammates for touchdowns.

“It’s just the personal satisfaction of knowing that without us, the play wouldn’t work,” said Neno, who will study pre-med. “Somebody has to block or no one would get the ball.”

Nenos switched from the defensive line this season and put on 30 pounds, putting him at 6-foot-3, 240 pounds.

“Coach Kantor thought I should do it and it was a great idea,” Nenos said. “I give all the credit to him. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be going to Jacksonville right now.”

Hannah received 12 scholarship offers despite only playing football for two years. He was mainly a basketball player until Kantor told him he should try out.

“It’s been amazing because I almost quit football last year,” Hannah said. “After our last game my junior year I didn’t play at all, but my dad told me to stick with it and I’m very glad I did.”

Hannah said basketball with the Bearcats is very unlikely.

Hannah had 48 tackles and seven sacks last season on a Gaither defense that allowed 23.5 points per game. He was named to the All-Laker/All-Lutz News first team defense for his performance.

Hannah said he is likely to study physiology. He said his second choice was Rutgers, followed by Texas Tech University.

“They said to me, don’t go to a school that wants you. Go to a school that needs you,” said Hannah, who will play as a defensive end/linebacker hybrid position.

One downfall about playing at Cincinnati is the cold weather. Hannah said he has lived all of his life in the Tampa Bay area.

“I’ve got my winter stuff already,” Hannah said. “The coaches said to me if you get drafted by the Green Bay in the NFL, are you not going? They said weather can’t be the deciding factor and it made a lot of sense to me.”

By Kyle LoJacono

Gaither High girls soccer players Lauren Moore and Carly Cepelak each started playing the game almost nine years ago and will continue their playing career in college.

The seniors each signed their letters of intent on Feb. 2, national signing day. Moore will play in the Tampa Bay area at the University of Tampa while studying sports medicine, while Cepelak will head north to Lincoln Memorial University in Tennessee and major in nursing.

“I’ve always loved playing soccer,” Cepelak said. “All the off-season workouts and practices were all worth it to know I’ll still get to play.”

Moore said of making her commitment, “It’s a great feeling. I’m so thankful I have the chance to keep playing.”

The two helped guide Gaither to a 12-6-2 record and to the first regional tournament appearance for the program in five years and the second regional finals appearance ever. The Cowboys earned the postseason berth by finishing as the runner-up in the Class 5A-District 9 tournament.

Both girls said they have many great memories playing at Gaither, but one moment stands out. In the 5A-9 semifinals, the Cowboys fell behind 2-0 to northern Hillsborough County rival Sickles High. Gaither fought back in the second half to win the contest 3-2, sending them to the tournament finals and ensuring them of a regional spot.

“It was so exciting,” Moore said. “To come back and win and know we were going to regionals. It was amazing.”

Moore, a midfielder, had a team-high 13 goals this season and added five assists. Cepelak, a sweeper, had one score.

Second-year Gaither coach Trevor Scott had one player sign last year, Ashley Acco with Saint Leo University.

“Seeing them sign is what it’s all about,” Scott said. “They have been great players and leaders for us and we couldn’t have made regionals without their leadership.”