SPC, CCC get shot to end deadlock

By JEFF BERLINICKE
Published January 27, 2005

SARASOTA - St. Petersburg Catholic goaltender Alexandra Kensler had some pretty brash words considering she's a freshman.

After the Barons downed host Cardinal Mooney 2-0 in the girls Class 3A, District 9 semifinals, Kensler had some words to put on the bulletin board of Clearwater Central Catholic, their opponent in Friday's final.

"We have so much energy on this team," Kensler said. "It's my freshman year, and we're going to win states."

The Barons will have to get past CCC, which knocked off Tampa Catholic in Wednesday's opening game 2-1. Ashley Wall scored twice to put the Marauders ahead 2-0.

CCC outshot Tampa Catholic 10-1 in the first half.

CCC and SPC have met twice this season, the first ending 3-3 and the second 0-0. CCC coach Tom Typrowicz said he is looking forward to another shot at the Barons.

"I think we're playing well right now," he said. "St. Petersburg Catholic is a good team, but we're playing really well right now. We just need to work on finishing our plays."

Wall scored the first CCC goal after stealing the ball in the Tampa Catholic zone and converted to make it 1-0. Early in the second half, Wall received a feed while darting down the middle and scored to make it 2-0. Dariela Alcantara scored late to cut it to 2-1.

In the nightcap, Kelly Tyrell put a header into the net to put SPC ahead at the half 1-0. Kathleen Howe took the ball out of a scramble in front of the Mooney goal and knocked it in to end the scoring.

Meanwhile, Kensler was stopping everything that came her way. Mooney put the pressure on throughout the second half, but Kensler and the SPC defense were up to the challenge.

SPC coach D'Arcy Clarie said his team has been building to this point all season.

"We played a tough schedule to get us ready for this," Clarie said. "We're young but we play hard. We'll have to play our best game on Friday."

[Last modified January 27, 2005, 00:41:13]