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St. Petersburg wins a battle of two tired teams, successfully defending its title with a 1-0 win.
By LAURA LEE
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 1, 2003
SEMINOLE -- It's been a long week. With four games in five days, and the road to the state championship looming in the near future with next week's district tournaments, Palm Harbor and St. Petersburg looked more than a little sluggish.
But the Green Devils got the offense they needed early Friday for a 1-0 win to repeat as PCAC champions.
"They look like the walking dead out there," St. Petersburg coach Rui Farias said of the two teams, who spent much of the first half kicking the ball back and forth across midfield.
Eerie special effects were compliments of Mother Nature as a dense fog descended on the field for the game, making it a challenge to read jersey numbers from the stands.
St. Petersburg freshman forward Hannah Wallace scored in the 13th minute to give the Green Devils (16-4-4) the goal they needed. The Devils defense took over from there, especially in the second period, allowing the Hurricanes (13-5-1) one shot on goal in the half.
"Those three in the back have been playing incredibly," Farias said about his backfield of Cory Woodworth, Kendall Winston and Caileen Wood. He also played Brittney Lewis at sweeper. "That just sealed the deal."
Palm Harbor coach Holly Freeman said a few calls disrupted her team's rhythm.
Two of her players were given yellow cards in the second half. She kept them out the remainder of the game to protect them from ejections and suspensions for next week's district tournament.