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Crisp Bloomingdale dominates Wellington 3-1

VALRICO -- If there was one sequence that summed up Bloomingdale's 3-1 victory over Wellington on Tuesday, it came in the 49th minute.

That's when the Bulls' Brandon Wight used his heel to flick the ball from the Bulls' side of midfield into Wolverine territory on a counter-attack that began deep in Bloomingdale's penalty box.

David Schmitt ran onto the ball, easily blowing past the pulled up defense and blasted a high shot toward the far post from about 30 yards.

Six-foot, four-inch Wellington goalie Miguel Baez, who saw his four-game shutout streak end earlier, jumped, but the ball slipped through his hands and trickled in.

It is because of perfect passes such as Wight's and perfect shots such as Schmitt's that Bloomingdale (16-1) is alive to play in Friday's Region 2 final against Boca Raton Olympic Heights, a 2-0 winner over Gaither.

It is because of near-misses such as Baez's that Wellington finds itself on a long bus ride home courtesy of the Bulls for the third time in five seasons.

"We didn't play our best game. I think we were intimidated," Wellington coach Bill Purtell said. "A lot of that has to do with Bloomingdale's reputation as a team of soccer excellence."

The Bulls outshot the Wolverines 23-6 and strung together passes in a style coach Samuel Isajar has implemented since taking over before this season.

"The key is we need to keep working hard, keep on working," Isajar said. "We need to play soccer, not dirty soccer. I'm teaching these kids South American soccer, balls on the ground, crisp passes."

Cowboys shut out

Gaither lost at Olympic Heights 2-0.

The Cowboys (18-7) had a rough night, not only because they lost, but because Richard Jackson took a blow to the head and was airlifted to a Boca Raton hospital.

Gaither coach Eric Sims said Jackson will be okay, but the game was a huge letdown after last week's climactic victory over Bradenton Manatee.

"It was pretty bad," Sims said. "Our guys just didn't show up to play."

-- TIMES STAFF

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