Two teams close in on records

NEW PORT RICHEY -- Ridgewood and Mitchell are on the verge of setting school records for single-season victories and both coaches feel those marks are inevitable.

The Rams (13-2-2) have reached the 13-win plateau twice before while the second-year Mustangs (6-6-5) won seven games in their inaugural season.

"I think we'll get the eight wins," Mitchell coach Steve Doyle said. "I would like to break the record."

Ridgewood already has played twice this week, a 3-3 tie in which the Rams rallied from a two-goal deficit against rival River Ridge on Monday, and Tuesday's 3-1 defeat of Springstead.

Ridgewood coach John Herig said his team's 14th win "could come Friday (against Hudson). That's going to be something big.

"(The players) are aware of it. They've got enough to motivate them."

Two other motivating factors for the Rams, Herig added, are winning a district championship and advancing to the regionals. Both would be firsts.

Herig, in his sixth season, coached one of those 13-win teams, the 1999-2000 squad that went 13-6 (Ridgewood posted a 13-4 mark in 1989-90).

Mitchell is coming off two ties -- 0-0 with River Ridge and 1-1 with Zephyrhills -- and Doyle said his team played well against two of the county's four teams with winning records.

"I think we've made tremendous leaps and bounds," Doyle said. "We're starting to peak now. We're moving the ball around."

FIVE IN ONE: River Ridge forward Sarah Slusak tied a school record with five goals in a 7-0 win against Wesley Chapel on Jan. 9.

Lindsey Jones, a 2001 graduate, twice scored five in one game and Amy Hinmon did it in 1994.

Royal Knights coach Keith Hooper said Slusak wasn't aware she had tied the record. "I didn't tell her anything. She knows about it now and she was like, 'Oh, that's nice.'

"She's a laid-back type of player. She's more concerned with the team playing well than her individual stats."

As for individual statistics, Tiffany Cadovius and Mandi Petrella each scored their third goals against Wesley Chapel.

GETTING EVEN: Wesley Chapel and Hudson each had one win before Monday's game between the bottom teams in the Sunshine Athletic Conference. Hudson's 2-1 win evened the score since the Wildcats' lone victory this season came against the Cobras.

"We're about the same caliber of team," Hudson coach Julie Heise said.

Alicia Doan set up both Hudson goals by Christina Pursley and Sneha Kumar.

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