By Kyle LoJacono
Land O’ Lakes sent two teams to the state Special Olympics tournament May 18 and 19 at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando.
The Gators showed they were the best of the best, winning a pair of championships. The LOL Blue defeated teams from Broward and Duval counties 4-2 and 4-3 in penalty kicks, respectively, to hoist the level three title. LOL Gold made it a clean sweep by beating Escambia 4-2 to claim the level four crown after dropping its opening contest 2-1 to Hillsborough.
Blue also took top honors last season. Many of the players returned, including the squad’s leading scorer Andrew Ahearn, a forward.
“I wasn’t nervous; maybe a little,” said Ahearn, who tallied two goals at states.
The defending champs also needed penalty kicks a year ago to win the ultimate prize. At goalkeeper both years was Kenny Rolph.
“I thought we could do it again,” Rolph said. He added, “It was really fun, but kind of scary.”
It was also nerve racking for Blue’s unified players, who are traditional athletes making up two of the six players on the field at any time.
“During PKs your heart is in your throat,” said senior Joelle Stewart, who also volunteered as a unified Blue member last year. “To see your players make a goal, or even miss, you want them to do it perfect because they’ve worked hard to get there.”
Fellow Blue unified player Samantha Frahm has become closer to the athletes thanks to Special Olympics.
“It’s been great because I’ve gotten to learn more about my friends and how they react to the game,” Frahm said. “You get to see everyone differently when you’re playing soccer together.”
Gold, which was state runner-up last year, had its game rained out May 18, forcing the squad to play a pair May 19. LOL dropped the opening contest, but got a pair of goals from Yvonne Collinsworth and one apiece from Cynthia LaGreca and Tara Chamblin to win the championship.
LaGreca’s tally, which turned out to be the game winner, was her first ever.
“That was so great,” said LaGreca, a forward. “I didn’t get to go last year, so getting to go this year and getting to score and winning a gold medal was the best. … I was kind of scared because it was my first time. I was hearing from my teammates that states is really hard, so I thought it would be tough to win.”
It was also Gold unified player Carrie Godfrey’s first trip to the finals.
“The whole experience was great,” Godfrey said. “I loved watching all the kids play, score for the first time or score that winning goal for the team.”
The Land O’ Lakes teams are both in the masters division, which allows graduates from the school to play along with current students. There are only four levels in each of the five age groups, meaning the Gators claimed half of the titles available within their division.
Stewart, who is president of the school’s Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) club, said volunteering with Special Olympics the last four years has been one of the greatest experiences of her time at Land O’ Lakes.
“Seeing these kids work through their difference and any problems they have makes me want to play harder in my sport,” Stewart said. “Soccer is my life, so I want to share it with anyone else. Any time I can give someone some coaching or some help with soccer is great.”
Godfrey added, “It was a lot of fun to see them grow from the first day of practice until the winning goal at states. It was a real positive thing for them and for me as well.”
