Barons brush off Cardinal Mooney

By JEREMY WRITT
Published February 3, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - St. Petersburg Catholic (19-1-4) dominated Sarasota Cardinal Mooney, scoring eight unanswered goals before officials stopped the region quarterfinal with more than 10 minutes left in regulation.

The Barons were attacking constantly in the first half thanks to stellar ball sharing.

"That was the whole game plan," Barons coach Anatol Popovich said. "Just to move the ball around and when you have opportunities, shoot."

Justin Castellano scored on SPC's fifth opportunity when he beat Sarasota Cardinal Mooney goalie Tom McCabe to a pass from Matthew Skonicki (goal, assist) and pushed it into the open net. After failing to score on a one-on-one attempt two shots later, Ryan Covington converted a quick change breakaway opportunity into the first of his three goals to make it 2-0. After scoring again two shots later, he assisted on Skonicki's goal later in the half, giving the Barons a 4-0 lead at the break.

Playing against strong winds in the first half only exacerbated the talent gap between the teams. While the Barons rattled off shot after shot, Cardinal Mooney (6-12-2) went 50 minutes without one and only put the ball on net once. Things did not get much better for the Cougars in the second half. Covington's third, which came after six minutes, was followed by a 25-yard strike on a free kick from fullback James Deconinck. SPC also posted goals from Derek Roath and Chris Castellano.

[Last modified February 3, 2006, 01:25:14]