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JOHN SCHWARBHernando has its hands full just staying away from the mercy rule in a 7-1 loss to Melbourne CC.
BROOKSVILLE - Hernando coach Kristi Mule knew early this was going to be a tough test, and not early as in after Melbourne Central Catholic's first goal or two.
"I could tell from their warmup," Mule said.
Before Tuesday's region semifinal began, MCC, Class A state champion last year, showed off its pass-and-move skill in team drills. The Leopards had nothing like it then or during the game, losing 7-1 in their first second-round playoff game since 1997.
The Hustlers (14-6-2) got on the board just over 11 minutes in when speedy Jane Alukonis streaked down the right-center of the field through two Hernando defenders and finished to the left corner of the net.
Six minutes later, they had a 3-0 lead after another goal from Alukonis and one from Lindsay Walsh, finishing a cross from Ashley Stack.
With 13 minutes left in the half, the lead was 5-0 as Natalie Collins and Allison Rosenbloom tacked on two more quick goals.
"They were awesome, the best team we've played all year," Hernando sophomore Danielle Coopman said. "They would touch it once and pass it, we weren't used to that. We were used to people dribbling it more."
The Hustlers made it 6-0 four minutes into the second half when Stack blasted a 20-yard shot from the left side perfectly into the top of the net. When Stack delivered a cross to Collins with 20 minutes left to make it 7-0, the mercy-rule alert was on.
But Hernando (11-9-2) did not give in, holding off MCC's final rallies and scoring a goal of its own on the lone shot of the night, from Coopman.
"I'm not disappointed in them," Mule said. "They came out with their heads up. They never once gave up and let them have that eighth goal.
"They could have sent us home in the first half and we made it all the way to the end of the game."