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© St. Petersburg Times, published February 8, 2003
ST. PETERSBURG -- Seminole's celebration started at halftime, and nobody could call it premature.
A milestone was officially in the books, and a district title essentially was too.
The Warhawks dominated St. Petersburg on Friday in the district championship, scoring three goals in the first half on the way to a 4-1 rout.
Two went to Julie Beatty, who reached 100 for her career.
So all that shouting and a little dancing on the St. Petersburg track? Understandable, especially considering the Green Devils won at Seminole in last season's district final.
"We wanted to come back and beat them on their turf like they did to us," Beatty said. "We were psyched on the bus, we were cheering, we were so ready for this."
Seminole (19-3-2) showed perfect form on its first goal, in the 22nd minute, when Rachel Paroulek delivered a cross from the right side directly to the head of Kathleen Pollard, who finished to the top of the net.
St. Petersburg (17-5-4) contributed to its own demise on the next two goals, as defensive lapses allowed Beatty to get behind the defense and beat goalie Rachael Howard.
"Most of the time they normally stick somebody on me, but I just got lucky and they made a few mistakes and I capitalized on them," Beatty said.
The Green Devils had allowed one goal in their past five games.
PALM HARBOR -- Hurricanes coach Holly Freeman doesn't like the phrase "going all the way", but Palm Harbor University has done it twice and is one step closer to its third state title after a 2-0 win against East Lake on Friday night.
"Really, anything after districts we are really enamored with," Freeman said. "I don't like saying we are going all the way."
Palm Harbor (15-5-1) controlled the ball nearly the entire game in its fifth match of the season against the Eagles (17-4-2).
In the first half, the Hurricanes came up empty for 35 minutes before Annie Stalzer scored from the top of the box off a pass from Lizzie Wellings.
Kaylyn Smith added a goal in the second half with an assist from Sara Stack as the Hurricanes defeated the Eagles for the fourth time this season.
The second half played much like the first, with time-consuming possessions for Palm Harbor on East Lake's end of the field. The Hurricanes had 12 shots to the Eagles' six.
"I'm proud we made it to the district finals," East Lake coach Lotte Sand said. "You're never happy when you walk away after a loss, but you have got to hand it to Palm Harbor."
-- ERIC MUSKATEVC
TAMPA -- This one was for Kay.
Tarpon Springs coach John Freiermuth had wife Kay on his mind Friday night after she was rushed to Mease Countryside Hospital that afternoon with a collapsed lung. After doctors assured Freiermuth his wife was well enough for him to leave, his players made sure he wouldn't have to worry about the outcome of the game, routing Osceola 6-1 for the title at Tampa Bay Tech.
The Spongers (15-3) will host a region quarterfinal against District 10 runner-up Bartow on Tuesday night. Osceola (16-6) will travel to Lake Gibson..
Freiermuth didn't arrive until minutes before the game started. His team scored twice in the first six minutes and coasted from there. Junior Paige Beyer produced a hat trick, and Kristen Freiermuth, Ashley Jefferies and Whitney Gause joined in the scoring. The Spongers outshot the Warriors 19-4.
"It was an emotional night," Freiermuth said. "The doctors pushed me out the door and said she was okay about quarter to six. Kristen even scored a goal for Mom."
Osceola, which upset top-seeded Lakewood in the semifinals, started slowly and never found a rhythm against a stronger, faster Tarpon Springs team. Erica Civello's goal in the seventh minute closed the gap to 2-1, but Jefferies' goal in the last minute of the first half put Tarpon Springs firmly in control.
Freiermuth took over the Spongers this season after years of coaching boys teams and the group established the same physical, aggressive play for which his teams are noted.
"Fortunately, I walked into a good situation," Freiermuth said. "We have a lot of good athletes and we should be good again next year with only one senior starter."
-- JOEL POILEY
TAMPA -- A tip off a keeper's fingers, a foot to the left, a flick to the right, a little more, or less ... it was the little things that separated Berkeley Prep and Clearwater Central Catholic in Friday's final.
After 80 minutes and two five-minute overtimes, CCC (17-3-3) finally prevailed 2-1, leaving both teams physically and mentally spent.
"This is one time I can say that every girl on our team left everything they had on the field," Berkeley Prep coach Ken Roberts said. "There is no way I can ask for anything more."
Berkeley Prep (14-6-1) started the scoring in the 10th minute when seventh-grader Chelsea Hatcher drove the left side, dodging a few defenders before drilling it home.
Berkeley Prep held the lead until the 47th minute when CCC's Jessica Hallgren threw in a 30-yard bullet that Ashley Posusta nicked with her head. The ball looped over keeper Callie Raymond's outstretched hands and tumbled in.
With less than two minutes remaining in the first overtime, Hallgren, who played four positions, drove right and zipped a ball past a diving Raymond, a score that seemed to sap what energy Berkeley had left.
"But we had plenty of energy," said Hallgren, who signed this week with the University of Florida. "You can tell right now that we still have a lot of energy," she said pointing at her teammates hugging in celebration.
-- SCOTT PURKS
ST. PETERSBURG -- Young teams tend to be erratic. With Cardinal Mooney starting six freshmen against top seed St. Petersburg Catholic (16-5-1) in the championship game, second-year coach Graham Warne wasn't sure what to expect.
"We have developed into a second-half team as of late," Warne said.
After being passive in the first half and giving up a goal to the Barons' Lena Mullaney, the Cougars exploded for four goals in the second to give Cardinal Mooney (17-5-1) a 4-1 win and the district title.
Just more than a minute into the second half, an awkward shot in front of the Barons goal trickled to Korey Rogers, who scored into an open net. "We felt unstoppable after that goal," Michelle Bilodeau said.
That seemed to be all the confidence the Cougars needed, as they outhustled and outmuscled the Barons the rest of the way.
"We lost our rhythm after that first goal," SPC coach D'arcy Clarie said. "That first goal was crucial, it really set (the Cougars) off."
The rest of the game was played mainly in SPC's zone. Defensemen Courtney Gould, Debbie Lowry and Erica Gilbert cleared anything that came into the Cardinal Mooney end.
Rogers added another goal, and Bilodeau and Margeau Faticone also scored for the Cougars.
-- ALEX LYNCH