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Familiar faces on top
By STEVE LEE, Times Staff Writer
LAND O'LAKES -- Five county teams had winning records last season. Land O'Lakes, Mitchell, Ridgewood, River Ridge and Zephyrhills are at it again. Land O'Lakes (5-0) is the lone unbeaten, no surprise considering the Gators return last season's top two county scorers Stacy Bishop and Casie Poyssick. Poyssick, however, has been sidelined for two games with a sprained right ankle and coach Vicky King said the senior midfielder might miss games Thursday against Hudson and Friday against Gulf. Watching Land O'Lakes' 4-1 win over Zephyrhills on Friday, a teary-eyed Poyssick expressed her frustration. "Soccer is one of the loves of my life and it's hard not to play," said Poyssick, who has six goals and four assists in three games. "It's pointless for her to reinjure herself," King said. "She's not 100 percent. We're a pretty deep team so I think we can cope with (Poyssick's injury)." Third-year Mitchell, which posted its first winning record (9-7-5) last season, is off to a 6-2 start. The emerging Mustangs nearly tied Land O'Lakes (Bishop's goal in the final minute gave the Gators a 1-0 win). "Everything is clicking," Mustangs coach Karl Kukec said. "Every game, they've played well together. They're helping each other. They work for each other." Aside from Land O'Lakes, the Mustangs could be the most balanced team in the county with a plus-17 goal differential (26 goals-for and 9 goals-against). The Gators have outscored the opposition 24-1. Mitchell's stalwart defense, anchored by Lindsey Sowder, Kaitlin Lavin, Carly Mitchell and keeper Lauren Hudson, is offset by returning scorers Kate Slaughter (7 goals, 2 assists), Alyssa Petrella (2, 5) and freshman Lauren Schenk, who has a county-leading 29 points on 11 goals and 7 assists. Taylor Greene (8 goals, 8 assists) leads Ridgewood in scoring, but the Rams (5-2-1) have a welcome addition in sophomore Patty Racener, whose first career goal was the game-winner in a 3-2 victory over Central. Racener added two goals in Friday's 4-2 win over Leesburg. River Ridge (4-2), an upset victim in Friday's 4-3 loss to Wesley Chapel, has allowed 12 goals in six games, slightly under last season's 2.04 goals-against average. Kat Mazzella (six shutouts) graduated and has been replaced by senior Christina Nagy, a junior varsity player the past three seasons. Nagy has ample support in returning defenders Melissa Jones, an All-Sunshine Athletic Conference first-teamer, Kristen Silviotti, Nicole Simeone and Kelly Newton. "The only new element to the back is the keeper," Knights coach Keith Hooper said. "The girls in the back have a tremendous amount of experience." Zephyrhills (3-2-2) has a 10-goal scorer in Renee Yonkoff and has lost to Mitchell and Land O'Lakes. So far, Zephyrhills is the only team to score on the Gators. Yonkoff had that goal in Friday's 4-1 loss.
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