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Preps
Elite soccer teams roll into town
By JEREMY RASMUSSEN
Published December 17, 2004
TAMPA - When he was King coach, Mike Rowan worked for years to build the boys soccer program to the point where it could get an invitation to the prestigious tournament hosted annually by Jesuit and Berkeley Prep.
Then, when the Lions finally got the call up, Rowan left to head the fledgling program at Wharton.
Now in his eighth season with the Wildcats, Rowan finally gets to coach in the Admiral Tournament.
Wharton (8-1, No. 9 in 5A) received its first invitation to the big event, and with 10 other local teams, hopes to make a splash in the 32-team tournament that draws national attention and elite squads from as far away as California.
Wharton will play in a preliminary bracket with Los Angeles Loyola (5-0), the No. 1 team in the country according to the Students Sports Fab 50 poll. The bracket also includes Class 4A, No. 3-ranked Gulf Breeze (6-1) and host Jesuit (4-2-2, No. 8 in 3A).
"For one thing, we're looking forward to playing Jesuit," Rowan said. "We've been wanting to play them for a long time. A lot of our kids play on club teams with Jesuit kids, and they have the history with the state championships and all. The other thing is we really feel that we can play with anybody, and this will give us a chance to prove that."
Rowan said his team's excitement is tempered by its focus on a huge Class 5A, District 7 showdown with Gaither this afternoon. The Cowboys (8-0-2) garnered the No. 1 spot in this week's state poll.
While Wharton's draw is tough, No. 10 Brandon (6-0-2) may have the toughest of any local team. The Eagles face three other undefeated teams, including Watsonville, Calif. (3-0-1), which until this week was No. 1 in the Student Sports Fab 50.
[Last modified December 17, 2004, 00:08:09]
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