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Serving Pasco since 1981/Serving Lutz since 1964

Academy of the Holy Names

Cypress Creek girls soccer finds success in year two

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They went from one of Pasco’s worst, to one of the firsts.

That’s one way to describe the turnaround the Cypress Creek varsity girls’ soccer team experienced this season.

After winning just three games in its inaugural campaign during the 2017-18 season, the Coyotes this year emerged as one of the county’s top programs.

They finished the season with an 11-4 mark — quite the contrast to last year’s 3-13 finish.

It included wins against such rival schools as Land O’ Lakes, Pasco, Sunlake, Wesley Chapel and Wiregrass Ranch, each of whom have fielded top-flight squads over the years.

The Cypress Creek varsity girls soccer team recently won the first conference championship among all sports in school history. (Courtesy of Jennifer Richardson)

In fact, the Coyotes went undefeated against all of its Pasco opponents.

The team’s only defeats came against private schools: Berkeley Prep, Clearwater Central Catholic, Academy of the Holy Names, and a season-ending 1-0 loss in the District 9-2A quarterfinals to Tampa Catholic.

The Coyotes biggest accomplishment, however, was winning the Sunshine Athletic Conference East championship.

It marked the first conference championship for any boys’ or girls’ sport for the second-year Wesley Chapel-based school.

They claimed the title after securing late-season conference wins against Pasco (5-0) and Wiregrass Ranch (2-1), respectively.

“It’s super exciting,” Coyotes second-year head coach Jennifer Richardson said of the conference crown. “It’s a great accomplishment for the team, for the school. The girls were very excited and they knew what was on the line in the last game, and they came and they played hard.”

Said senior sweeper Katelyn Leavines: “It makes me proud that I know I can end my senior year like this, and, like helping the school bring its first conference championship in history…makes me really happy.

She added, “Going from winning three games last year to now being conference champs, it just shows like the dedication that we all have and the hard work that we put in to make it happen.”

So, how exactly did Cypress Creek secure a winning season so quickly?

An influx of talented newcomers — including a group of eight freshman — bolstered a roster that previously lacked much soccer experience.

“Last year we didn’t have as many players that were soccer players. We had people that came out to the team that had never played soccer before, so this year, more people came out to play that had played soccer previously,” Richardson explained.

The most significant addition perhaps was junior goalkeeper Alina Vizza. She joined the team after not playing last year.

Vizza’s contributions can be summed up in the team’s goals allowed per game.

This year the team surrendered less than two goals per game, with three shutouts.

Compare that to last season, when the Coyotes gave up an average of 5.5 goals per game.

“She made a huge difference in our game,” Richardson said. “She’s tall. She knows how to move in the right spot and cut the angles. She wants to win.”

Freshman striker Emily Dominguez was another key addition. She finished the season as one of the team’s top scorers with nine goals.

Meanwhile, the Coyotes returned some experienced playmakers in juniors Raegan Bourne (who led the team in with 12 goals and five assists) and Sophia Mitchell (nine goals).

The new-look squad brought a hard-nosed approach to each game.

“We’re physical players,” Richardson said. “We’re tough, physical players. Our midfield is strong, physical.”

An upbeat mindset and newfound confidence also helped throughout the season’s course, players said.

Leavines put it this way: “Every week we always kept it positive no matter who we were playing, and, we never had an attitude of, ‘Oh, this team’s going to beat us’ or like, ‘Oh. they’re better than us.’ We just kept it positive and knew that we had a chance every single time, and, to just play our hardest.”

Added Dominguez: “It was like after our fifth game, and we kept winning, and all we could think about was winning. so we practiced hard…and it like improved us.”

Losing just three seniors and all but one starter expected to return next season, Cypress Creek figures to be more than just a one-year wonder.

“The majority of our starting team will be back next year, which is good,” Richardson said, “and I know that there’s middle school girls that know how to play that are coming up, so it’s exciting to know for the future that we’re still going to have players for next year, and we’re going to be a contender again.

“I think we shocked a lot of people, because last year we had three wins.”

2018-2019 Cypress Creek girls varsity soccer roster

  • Head coach: Jennifer Richardson
  • Abby Murphy, junior, midfielder
  • Alina Vizza, junior, goalkeeper
  • Anna Margetis, junior, defender
  • Briana Rivera, freshman, midfielder
  • Brianna Sharpe, freshman, midfielder
  • Emily Dominguez, freshman, striker
  • Hailey Canady, freshman, goalkeeper/striker
  • Katelyn Leavines, senior, sweeper
  • Raegan Bourne, junior, forward
  • Riley Copeland, junior, defender
  • Rylee Crawford, freshman, defender
  • Rylie Showalter, freshman, defender
  • Sierra Rivera, senior, midfielder
  • Sofia Ibata, freshman, midfielder
  • Sophia Mitchell, junior, midfielder
  • Tiffany Pike, senior, goalkeeper/defender
  • Ximena Garcia, freshman, midfielder

Game-by-game results for 2018-2019 season
Nov. 12: Gulf (8-1 win)

Nov. 14: Wesley Chapel (3-2 win)

Nov. 15: at Brooke DeBartolo Collegiate (5-0 win)

Nov. 26: Sunlake (3-1 win)

Nov. 27: Berkeley Prep (3-0 loss)

Nov. 29: Tampa Prep (2-1 win)

Dec. 4: Clearwater Central Catholic (4-1 loss)

Dec. 7: at Land O’ Lakes (3-2 win)

Dec. 11: at Fivay (4-2 win)

Dec. 13: at Academy of the Holy Names (8-0 loss)

Jan. 9: at Tampa Prep (1-0 win)

Jan. 11: Tampa Catholic (4-1 win)

Jan: 18: Pasco (5-0 win)

Jan. 22: Wiregrass Ranch (2-1 win)

Jan. 25: District 9-2A quarterfinals Tampa Catholic (1 – 0 loss)

Published January 30, 2019

LOL girls soccer works hard, aims high and consistently wins

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When a team lets the opponent score 11 goals in soccer, it sounds like the defense is struggling.

But, when those goals occur over a 17-game span, it sounds like a championship defense.

The Land O’ Lakes Gators girls soccer team is seeking a championship, and the defending Class 3A-8 champions are off to a 15-2 start.

Earlier this year, the Gators closed out its previous season in a 2-1 loss in the title game against American Heritage from Plantation.

While some teams might stumble a bit after that kind of loss, Land O’ Lakes has raced to a strong start. Aside from a 3-0 loss to Academy of the Holy Names on Dec. 1 and a 2-3 loss to Mitchell High on Dec. 14, only a handful of their games have been particularly close. And, they have won several of their games by sizable margins.

Coach Vicky King doesn’t see any secret formula to the Gators’ success.

“We work hard. We do have a good bit of talent. They have high expectations,” she said. “We work for everything we get. We know that nothing is given to us.”

That work includes a preseason conditioning program, which ensures that the athletes are in good shape when the first whistle sounds. Many of them also play club soccer, which helps, King said.

Many of them also play on different club teams, which the coach sees as an advantage. The players come together after being exposed to a variety of philosophies and styles of play, and when they play for their high school team, they execute at a high level on the field.

Even bumps in the road can have positive benefits. The loss to the Academy (who was also undefeated) was a lesson that they still have areas that need improvement.

“It was a good game. It was very challenging for us and shows what we need to work on,” King said. “It makes us refocus. If we want to reach our goals and succeed, then we know we have work to do.”

“Work” is a common theme with King. It has built a strong program over her 29 years as the team’s soccer coach, and it’s something she discusses with her players regardless of their opponent or their record at the time. By maintaining that focus, it builds a level of expectation that freshmen and sophomores recognize immediately, and work to meet or exceed from the very beginning.

It also helps maintain impressive records from year to year. Including the two losses this year, the team has lost only six games since the beginning of the 2013-14 season.

With that much success, some coaches might see a return to the state championship game as a likely event, or at least one that has a good chance of happening. But, King lives by the “one game at a time” mentality she preaches to the athletes. Like her players, she takes nothing for granted and only allows that continued success is a possibility if they remain focused and work hard.

“A lot of things can happen. They’re teenagers. Injuries, illness — the cards have to fall just right,” she said.

Those cards tend to fall into place for Land O’ Lakes, but it doesn’t happen with animated yelling or aggressive coaching on game days. The real work is done in practice, King said. If a team is prepared and focused, that should show up on the field. And, with all the players understanding what’s expected of them, most of the pieces are already in place when they step onto the field.

At that point, it’s up to them to execute. With all her success (the team won a state title in 2003) King said it’s ultimately their team, and they understand what it takes to continue the winning legacy of Land O’ Lakes girls soccer.

“I coach the team, but the team belongs to the players,” she said. “It’s their team. They know what our expectations are as far as performance on the field, performance in the classroom and performance in the community.”

The team has two remaining games on its schedule. It plays Pasco High on Jan. 6 at 7:45 p.m., and it plays Tampa Catholic on Jan. 8 at 7 p.m.

Published December 30, 2015