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Seminole's quest for soccer glory ends 21-year drought
By MAUREEN BYRNE AHERN SEMINOLE -- It's been a long wait. After more than two decades, Seminole High School's boys soccer team is returning to the state tournament. The Warhawks will play Cape Coral Mariner High School in the state's Class 3A semifinals Friday at Pepin-Rood Stadium in Tampa. If Seminole wins, the championship game is Saturday. "We haven't been there in 21 years. It's kind of like the Bucs," Coach Rick Masi said. This year's team has succeeded in spite of setbacks. A few key players were kicked off the team for disciplinary reasons and the remaining members battled the flu. Corey Ahern, 17, a senior who plays midfield, said the odds have "been against us all year." But the Warhawks were dealt one more blow last week. Drew Greenfield, the team's co-captain and starting sweeper, broke his right leg and won't play Friday. The senior was injured during a game last week, but it wasn't until he was warming up for Friday's game against Tampa Plant that he and others realized the severity of his injury. "He's not playing this weekend and he's a big part of our game," said goalkeeper Aaron Ingham, who had 17 shutouts this season and has accepted a soccer scholarship to the University of Central Florida. "It's just going to take a lot of hard work and a lot of practice this week," said Ingham, a 17-year-old senior. Seminole High's football and baseball teams have basked in the spotlight for the past several years. In 2001, the baseball players earned the title of the nation's No. 1-ranked team in Baseball America, were unbeaten in 31 games and captured the state Class 5A title. The football team had waited more than 20 years to return to the state's semifinals in 2000. Now the soccer team, 22-5-2 for the season, could be heading for glory. "It's overdue," said Masi, 50, who owns an insurance agency. The trip to the final four has special meaning to principal Rick Misenti, who played soccer in college. "It's a tremendous accomplishment for our coaching staff, our student-athletes and their parents," he said. "Those three ingredients are a tremendous recipe for success." Seminole High has been on cloud nine lately. One of the school's mathematics teachers, Robin Ladd, was chosen as Pinellas County's educator of the year. Two of the school's wrestlers have qualified for the state championship, and the girls basketball team is two wins away from competing in the state's final four. Masi has been coaching Seminole High's boys soccer team for the past 10 years. But he coached club soccer for 20 years before coming to the school. His Seminole Striker teams won state titles for five of those 20 seasons. But this is his first bid for a high school state championship. In the 2-1 win against Plant, Joey Brown scored with less than a minute remaining in the fourth and final five-minute overtime. "It was pretty nasty," Masi said of the game, which was played in Tampa. He said his players weren't allowed to use a locker room, had to move their bench to the other sideline because the ground was soaked and had to listen to opposing fans' catcalls. Friday plans are being made for a caravan of cars or possibly a couple of buses to ferry fans from Seminole to Tampa. Misenti said he would keep students informed. School dismisses at 2 p.m., three hours before the game starts. Fans may need most of that time to get to the stadium considering they'll be traveling during Friday afternoon rush hour. Masi and his players just hope they come. "It's nice to know you have the community's support," he said. Class 3A boys soccer semifinalsWHO: Seminole Warhawks vs. Cape Coral Mariner Tritons WHEN: 5 p.m. Friday WHERE: University of Tampa's Pepin-Rood Stadium, North Boulevard in Tampa. WHAT IF: A win puts the Warhawks in the championship game to face either Leon High School from Tallahassee or Lake Howell High School from Winter Park. The championship game is at 5 p.m. Saturday at Pepin-Rood Stadium.
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