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 senior 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. It goes back to the first day I met them when I told them they have to believe to achieve.”
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.
“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.”
Senior goalkeeper and Navy commit Dayton Wetherby almost single-handedly kept the Bulls in it by making seven of her 13 saves during the first half.
“I’m in awe of how good she did,” said Waters, a Saint Leo University commit. “She put the team on her back with all the saves she had.”
The Warriors broke through in the 33rd minute when Alexis Bredeau headed home a cross from Jessica Taylor. The tally is her 33rd this year, matching the program-record for goals in a season set in 2010-11 by current University of Tampa forward Cici Gonzalez.
The Warriors carried the 1-0 lead into halftime. Costa said his comments during the break were no different than any other game.
“We talk about the positives first, and then it’s not about the negatives; it’s about things we need to improve,” Costa said. “I basically pointed out to them that we’re not winning the ball, and we were letting them get right in front of us. We were ball watching. We needed to play the ball a little more directly to A.J. (Blount) and Berlin.”
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, who was fed by Anne Cypriano.
“My first instinct is to draw their keeper Stephanie (Hirsch) out and to draw that last defender in, and behold Berlin was right there,” said Blount, a University of South Florida commit.
Blount put her squad up for good five minutes later when freshman Chloe Lipovetsky sent a through ball up the middle. It was the senior forward’s 24th goal this season; she was anything but confident while making the run.
“Normally my mentality is that I’m going to score that, but against Sickles I had three opportunities and didn’t put any of them in. That almost cost us not making the finals, so I was just thinking this better go in, because if it doesn’t my mom might tell me to walk home,” Blount said with a smile.
Wetherby again stepped up for her team in the 49th minute by stopping Danielle Darius’ point-blank shot to preserve the 2-1 lead. Bulls’ central defenders Hannah Eder and Lauren Gordon limited any scoring chances after that.
Wiregrass Ranch got a boost from Cypriano and Eder, who sat out of the semis because of an injured back and a virus, respectively. Cypriano was visibly in pain throughout the contest.
“(Cypriano) was struggling, but she was determined to play no matter what,” Costa said. “Hannah Eder was 50 percent. She still has a little bit of that virus, but we’ll take 50 percent of Hannah Eder.”
Wiregrass Ranch needed overtime to get past Sickles in the semifinals Jan. 16.
The contest reminded Wetherby of last year’s semis against Freedom when the Bulls fell in penalty kicks.
“We were all really nervous,” Wetherby said. “We all remembered how last year went. After that game we knew we had to fix something. We spent two hours working on defending Steinbrenner’s style of play, so I think it helped us and kind of woke us up.”
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.
“I’ve never seen a more determined soccer player, boys or girls, than Berlin Waters,” Costa said. “She may not always be on her A game, but she’s going to kick and scratch and claw and fight for that ball. That’s the best way to describe Berlin Waters. She will not stop.”
Steinbrenner travels to Lakeland Jan. 23 for the regional quarterfinals to take on George Jenkins.
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.
//Bulls back in the playoffs
The Wiregrass Ranch girls soccer team came out of nowhere two seasons ago to win their first district title and make the playoffs for the first time.
The Bulls won 23 games that season, one more than the combined total during the program’s first four campaigns, but were unable to make it back to the postseason last year. They made up for it this year by claiming the Class 4A-District 8 title with a 2-1 victory over Steinbrenner.
“This year I didn’t feel like people thought we could do this,” said senior forward A.J. Blount. “People were saying how we didn’t deserve the No. 1 seed. … I was happy we were able to prove everybody wrong.”
Six seniors remain from that first playoff squad, which reached the regional finals: Berlin Waters, Dayton Wetherby, Anne Cypriano, Hannah Eder, Lauren Gordon, Ashley Murphy and Blount.
Wiregrass Ranch coach Eddy Costa said the seniors have been the squad’s leaders, but also pointed out the contributions of several freshmen.
“Chloe Lipovetsky has been a big part of the team all season, and then we called two freshmen up for the district tournament,” Costa said. “I had Hannah Erdmann and Camille King start at the left and right back spots. They had no varsity experience, and they really stepped up. Camille was our leading scorer on (junior varsity), but she did what we needed.”
Waters said missing the playoffs last season has the upperclassmen more determined this year.
“The last time we went to regionals we got a little cocky,” Waters said. “We know this time we have to stay focused and make sure that we go in there with the right mindset to make it to states.”
—Follow Kyle LoJacono on Twitter: @Kyle_Laker
