Sickles avenges its only loss of the season, topping Gaither 4-0.
By ROD GIPSON
Published January 29, 2005
TAMPA - Sickles didn't need any extra motivation heading into the Class 5A, District 7 championship. After all, the Gryphons were in the final, playing for a title and a home match in the regional tournament.
And Sickles was facing neighborhood rival Gaither. But throw in the fact these same Cowboys were the lone team to beat Sickles during what has become a historic season for the Gryphons, and suddenly motivation bordered on revenge. But even Sickles couldn't have predicted it would dominate Gaither from whistle to whistle en route to a 4-0 thumping.
"I told the girls Gaither is a tough, solid team," said coach George Arroyo, whose team lost to Gaither 3-2 this season. "And I also said we needed to score first. If we scored first, I thought we could keep scoring."
And that's what happened.
The Gryphons (19-1) got on the board with 14 minutes left in the first half when freshman Ashley Middleton curved a corner kick shot past Gaither goalkeeper Kaley Brown and into the net. Sickles' Sara Lockler, also a freshman, converted the next two goals. First she closed out the first half by collecting the ball off a ricochet, twirling and putting the ball into the net with about five minutes left in the half.
Lockler struck again three minutes into the second half when she scored on a cornerkick from Middleton.
"She's amazing," Arroyo said of Lockler. "She's a freshman with all the heart and effort it takes to be a great player. She has all the elements."
The Sickles defense also was outstanding. Gaither (10-5) was limited to just one shot on goal, which Sickles goalkeeper Melanie Raimo easily collected early in the second half. The Cowboys threatened early in the game when Jessica Mantler broke free inside the box but Chelsea Wright cut her off and knocked the ball away before Mantler could get off a shot.
Wright completed the Gryphon scoring with 24:40 remaining when she beat Brown to the ball and made a sliding shot that pushed the ball into the net.
"Our defense set the tone early on," Arroyo said. "We knew Gaither does its best on set plays and we countered that on defense."
Sickles, which has set a school record for victories this season, hosts East Bay in the opening round of the regional tournament Feb. 3. Gaither, meanwhile, travels to face Class 5A, District 8 champ King.
