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Gators earn top seed with last-minute goal

ZEPHYRHILLS -- There was physical play. A pair of red cards. A last-minute game-winning goal and just enough time to nearly rally for a tie. Soccer's postseason is two weeks away, but one wouldn't know it by watching Land O'Lakes and Zephyrhills on Wednesday. The Gators locked up the top seed and a first-round bye in the Class 2A, District 8 tournament, pulling out a 2-1 victory against the Bulldogs on a pair of goals by Justin Read.

"It's a really good warmup for districts -- we know we're going to get the same thing there," Land O'Lakes coach Mark Pearson said. "I'd rather have a game like this at this time of year than a blowout. It's a good preparation. They played very hard and I give them a lot of credit."

Zephyrhills (8-5-2, 6-4-1 in district) outshot the Gators 17-11 and took the lead with 22 minutes left in the first half on Keith Ostermann's first goal of the season. Ostermann, who missed most of the season with a broken foot, was to be the Bulldogs' goalkeeper Wednesday but shifted out when starter Frank Fregoso was allowed to return earlier than expected from a school-related suspension.

Land O'Lakes (10-5-4, 8-1-3 in district) answered 8 minutes later, when John-Paul Rodrigues sent a deep pass down the left side, allowing Read to beat one defender and fire a shot past an approaching Fregoso to tie the game.

Late in the second half, Ostermann was issued a controversial red card when officials said he pushed a Gators player from behind. His ejection left the Bulldogs one man down for the final 15 minutes.

Zephyrhills remained on the attack but unable to score, and the Gators struck with less than a minute left in regulation.

Andrew Falcon put a close-range shot off the Zephyrhills post and Read put the rebound in to give Land O'Lakes the lead.

Before Zephyrhills could get the ball, Gators goalie Kyle Boerner was issued a rare "taunting" red card for comments made to the Bulldogs bench.

The penalty forced Pearson to put in sophomore Tony Vu, called up from the junior varsity two weeks ago when backup goalie Dustin Collins quit the team.

Zephyrhills had chances to tie the game, pushing a header toward an empty net before defender Michael Melsheimer deflected the ball away.

"My team is coming together," Bulldogs coach Philip Castro said. "We're playing. We will do it. We know there are no easy games now. ... We want to win districts."

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