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Now, it counts for Bishop McLaughlin

By STEVE LEE
Published November 30, 2005

HUDSON - There are no seniors yet, but at least there are separate teams for genders and the games actually count.

That is how far the soccer program has evolved at Bishop McLaughlin, which fielded a co-ed squad for the first two years of the school's existence. Now, boys and girls teams play against other varsity squads in Class 2A, District 9.

"It's a great step for our program, obviously to become more legitimate," athletic director Mike Zelenka said. "It was hard to find enough (players) for a girls team, but I'm really happy about that and I think the girls are, too. I don't think they liked playing with the boys."

With only two juniors on a roster of 12, the girls basically are an undermanned junior varsity squad. The Hurricanes are 1-2, including an 8-0 win over South Sumter's JV team Nov. 7. Jenna Palamaro and Jessie Besley each had hat tricks in that game, with Molli Gard and Tiffany Woodall each contributing a goal.

"The biggest concern for me is their motivation and their willingness to stick to it, but it really hasn't been a problem," said Bishop McLaughlin girls coach Vinnie Garofolo, a 1997 Ridgewood graduate who played three seasons for the Rams. "We're building a program, and they've really bought into it."

John Mayer, Bishop McLaughlin's soccer director who also coaches the boys team, got the ball rolling with informal inhouse scrimmages the first year. Last season, a combined boys-girls squad went 1-5-1 in games against all-boys teams.

The most formidable challenge for the boys, Mayer said, is "just being young, trying to grow up quick."

The boys' learning scale is ahead of the girls', evident by a 3-2 start that includes wins over Canterbury (2-0), Central Florida Christian (6-0) and Tampa Baptist Academy (8-0).

"They're good kids and they want to play," said Mayer, who in 22 seasons coaching Christian and independent schools in Georgia compiled a 258-68-17 record with four state titles and five league championships. "There's a good chemistry, a good feel about them."

James McCarragher, Matt Gronau, Ted Kasprow, Andres Saaverdra, Chris Redfield and Nick Hellman have scored for the Hurricanes.

McCarragher had the first goal that counted in team history, scoring before Hellman in the 2-0 season-opening win over Canterbury. Redfield had two assists in that game.

"Redfield's got good skill and he likes to compete," Mayer said.

Like Redfield, most of the 15 players missed some practice time while playing for the football team.

"Everybody's getting their soccer legs," Mayer said. "It took a little bit of time."

There also is progress, the coach added. Bishop McLaughlin lost its first game against St. Petersburg Catholic 8-0 and reduced that margin slightly to 8-1 in the rematch.

"We took it on the chin," Mayer said of the first loss to St. Petersburg Catholic. "It was very demoralizing, but it was a great opportunity. We found out what we had to do to be competitive."

In the rematch, Mayer said the Hurricanes "played a very defensive game. We were getting behind the ball. We lost, but the kids came away and realized we can do this."

[Last modified November 30, 2005, 11:47:50]