Mitchell's Kate Slaughter and Lauren Schenk are two of the county's best on offense with 63 points each.
By STEVE LEE
Published January 14, 2004
TRINITY - Stacy Bishop and Casie Poyssick spent four seasons dueling for the team scoring title in leading Land O'Lakes to two region finals and the 2003 Class 2A state championship.
Now with Bishop (Louisiana State) and Poyssick (Saint Leo) having made their marks as college freshman in the fall, the county's best in-house scoring race is at Mitchell.
Kate Slaughter and Lauren Schenk, who combined for 63 goals (behind only Bishop/Poyssick with 75) last season, share the team scoring lead at 63 points and are tied for second in the county.
Slaughter, a senior who had a school-record five goals in a game last season, has 26 goals and 11 assists.
Schenk, a sophomore coming off a school-record 35 goals last season, has 25 goals and 13 assists.
Both scored twice in Monday's 6-0 win against Hudson that helped the Mustangs improve to 13-1-2.
"It's just amazing that after so many games it's so close," Mitchell coach Karl Kukec said. "It's more of a friendly competition, but there's a competitive element in it."
After Mitchell's scoring tandem, there is a significant dropoff to senior Michelle Kukec, the coach's daughter who has two goals and 15 assists for 19 points.
As potent as Slaughter and Schenk are, neither could get a ball past Land O'Lakes goalkeeper Shannon Aitken in Friday's 1-0 loss in a matchup of the county's best teams.
The Gators (16-1-2) won on a goal by Brittani Stoltz to bolster Aitken's 16th shutout, which would not have occurred had Slaughter not missed an open net after Aitken and a defender collided.
"All (Slaughter) had to do was run the ball into the goal," coach Kukec said. "There was no keeper. She decided to shoot and shot wide.
"You rip your hair out. That's why I don't have any hair."
Mitchell's defense, led by keeper Lauren Hudson (10 shutouts and an 0.38 goals-against average), kept Grace Weatherford in check. Weatherford is Land O'Lakes' top scorer with 20 goals and eight assists.
For all of their scoring prowess, Slaughter and Schenk trail Pasco's Jami Pass. A season after a school-record 29 goals, Pass has 33 and is a primary reason the Pirates are 10-5-1.
Pass, a junior, is not shouldering Pasco's offense alone.
Freshman striker Rosala Velasquez has 15 goals and 12 assists.
"Jami and Rosala, those two are very speedy," Pasco coach Wardell Powell said. "In addition to speed, Rosala has a lot of ball skills. That really helps."
