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U-14 Chargers add tournament title to honors

By EMERY SKOLFIELD
Published November 27, 2005

Almost apologetically, U-14 Clearwater Chargers boys soccer coach Peter Mannino talks of his squad's record this fall.

"Someday, somewhere, I'm pretty sure they'll lose a game," Mannino said, "but so far, they've come out on top."

The U-14 Chargers, a team of seventh, eighth and ninth-graders, are 31-0-0, have won multiple tournament titles and garnered a national ranking.

"It's definitely a situation they should be very proud of," said the Italian-born Mannino, a former professional player who joined the Chargers in 1992 and is the director of coaching. "It could be an exhibition, a tournament final or a friendly game, but every time they step on the field, it's with one purpose - to compete and to win."

In the top-flight Champions A division of the Capitol Area Soccer League Shootout this month in Raleigh, N.C., the Chargers outscored their foes 10-1 and eliminated teams from North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan and South Carolina.

CASL Elite, the host club, led the Chargers early, but the Clearwater team rebounded for a 2-1 victory and did not yield another goal the rest of the tournament.

The Chargers' run included an impressive 5-0 win over tournament favorite Grand Valley, Mich., in the semifinal and Reston, Va., in Zack MacMath's indirect kick in the second half of the final darted underneath the wall and trickled inside the near post for the lone score. MacMath, a freshman at St. Petersburg High, is a member of the U-15 national team as a goalkeeper, but plays in the field for the Chargers.

"He's great for us out there," said Mannino, whose team is ranked No. 8 - three spots behind Grand Valley - in the nationalsoccerranking.com poll. "This whole group, you're going to hear from these guys down the road. It's a group of very young players that are self-motivated and determined. They're skillful, and their talent is kind of backed by their character and personality."

FOOTBALL: The Lakewood Junior Spartans junior varsity flyweight team didn't allow a point in the regular season in going 13-0 and capturing the Suncoast Youth Football Conference. The Spartans won the title by beating Clearwater No. 1.

Coached by Kennie Taylor, the Junior Spartan flyweights consist of 7-, 8- and 9-year-olds from St. Petersburg.

GYMNASTICS: Athletes representing Oldsmar's Victory Gymnastics Center fared well at the recent Sarasota Sunfest invitational.

In Level 4 competition, Maria Jose Amundaray wonn in the vault, and teammates Angie Kircher (vault), Ashley Crawford (bars) and Daphne Boltz (vault and bars) finished second.

Victory's Allie Reigh Heller won the Level 5 vault.

MARTIAL ARTS: Pinellas Park High freshman Lauren Clark earned a bronze medal in the Elite 14-17 Black Belt division at the Senior National Taekwondo Championships last month in San Jose, Calif.

Clark trains at Ferkile's Taekwondo in St. Petersburg.

--Emery Skolfield can be reached at 727 490-7618 or sptimesyouth@yahoo.com

[Last modified November 27, 2005, 01:17:13]