By Kyle LoJacono
Nothing came easy for the Wiregrass Ranch girls soccer team in the Class 4A-District 8 tournament, but the top-seeded Bulls came out as champions.
Wiregrass Ranch (19-2) needed second-half comebacks against Sickles in the semifinals and tournament host Steinbrenner (14-5) for the title, winning both contests 2-1.
“It’s hard coming back, and it does mess with your mind being down,” said Bulls forward Berlin Waters. “We fought so hard to pull it together against Sickles, so we knew we could come back and beat (Steinbrenner) tonight.”
The district crown is the second for the seventh-year program, but Wiregrass Ranch coach Eddy Costa sees a difference with being champions as the only team from Pasco County in 4A-8.
“One thing I was honest with them about was that even though we were the No. 1 seed, everyone was talking about Steinbrenner being the team to beat,” Costa said. “Until this team won a really big district like this, no one was going to believe we were for real.”
The victory not only ended the Warriors’ 11-game winning streak, but also snapped its three-year run as district champion going back to the program’s inaugural season.
Costa said the plan was to mark Dani Eule and University of North Florida commit Alexis Bredeau.
“We have a lot of respect for Steinbrenner,” Costa said. “They have a lot of very talented players, and we knew the best way to play Steinbrenner is to not let them play and get the ball to their key players.”
Goalkeeper Dayton Wetherby almost single-handedly kept the Bulls in it by making seven of her 13 saves during the first half.
The Warriors broke through in the 33rd minute when Bredeau headed home a cross from Jessica Taylor.
“Alexis made a fantastic run on a diving header,” Wetherby said. “Perfect ball across and solid reaction.”
The tally is Bredeau’s 33rd this year, matching the program record for goals in a season set in 2010-11 by current University of Tampa forward Cici Gonzalez.
“She’s just been the heart and soul of this team,” said Steinbrenner coach Angela Gillisse. “If I need her to play in the midfield, she’ll play in the midfield. If I need her to play all the way back, she will. We can really rely on her.”
The Warriors carried the 1-0 lead into halftime. Costa said his comments during the break were about playing the ball more directly to Waters and A.J. Blount.
Wiregrass Ranch wasted little time putting the plan into action.
Waters tied the contest in the 43rd minute with her team-leading 27th tally off a cross from Blount.
“My first instinct is to draw their keeper Stephanie (Hirsch) out and to draw that last defender in, and behold Berlin was right there,” Blount said.
Blount put her squad up for good five minutes later when Chloe Lipovetsky sent a through ball up the middle.
The Bulls scored on their only two shots on goal in the second half.
“They finished the few opportunities they had, and we didn’t finish on the 20 we had,” Gillisse said. She added, “I told them the further we go the fewer opportunities we’re going to have. We had plenty of free kicks and corners, and we did nothing on them.”
Gillisse said she told her players to keep their heads up after the contest.
“The season is not over,” Gillisse said. “They saw two teams leave after the semifinals crying because their season was done. They don’t want to go home empty-handed next week. We need to keep moving forward, we aren’t out, and let this be a fire lit underneath them.”
Steinbrenner topped Gaither 6-1 in the semifinals Jan. 16. Bredeau and Eule each scored twice, while Taylor and Madison Whitmill each added a goal.
The Cowboys (7-6-3) got their tally from Haley Knowles.
Wiregrass Ranch needed overtime to get past Sickles in the other semifinal.
The Bulls fell behind in the eighth minute and entered halftime down 1-0.
Waters evened the score in the 65th minute after tapping in the third rebound off a corner kick, and she came through again with four minutes remaining in overtime.
In the extra period, Blount fired a shot that hit the post and bounced to Waters’ feet, which she buried home.
Steinbrenner travels to Lakeland Jan. 23 for the regional quarterfinals to take on George Jenkins, the squad that knocked the Warriors out of the playoffs last season.
Wiregrass Ranch hosts Lakeland Jan. 23 for its regional quarterfinals. If they win, the Bulls would host the semifinals Jan. 26 against the winner of the Steinbrenner-Jenkins matchup.
Regional games start at 7 p.m.
—Follow Kyle LoJacono on Twitter: @Kyle_Laker
