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West Pasco soccer scores big

By STEVE LEE
Published September 13, 2006

NEW PORT RICHEY - County teams fared well in the West Pasco Labor Day Soccer Tournament with the hosts winning three divisions and local teams accounting for five of 11 titles.

One West Pasco team that might have won was missing, but it won a championship elsewhere. The under-17 West Pasco competitive girls won the Atlanta Cup that same weekend.

"I had all the girls who were pretty much the best at their high schools," said Karl Kukec, who coached the team in Atlanta and also is the Mitchell girls coach. "They are the future of West Pasco."

Kukec's team consisted of players from Gulf, Mitchell, Ridgewood, River Ridge and East Lake.

West Pasco defeated a team from Rochell, Ga., 2-0 in the final. Gulf's Courtney Cohen had both goals and two goalkeepers shared the shutout with Mitchell's Laura Seletos replacing the injured Amber Kedder East Lake early in the second half.

West Pasco went 5-0 in that series, outscoring opponents 21-0.

"We've never done that before," Kukec said of the team's five straight shutouts.

Deana Rossi, River Ridge's scoring leader in each of her two seasons, led West Pasco with six goals and four assists.

In the four-day Labor Day series at W.H. Jack Mitchell Park, West Pasco's U-11 girls had no problem playing up an age group. West Pasco went 4-0 at the U-12 level and beat Dunedin 3-0 for the championship.

"They were older than us, but we're a Division I team and they were Division II and Division III so it was pretty even," coach Lee Greene said of the competition.

Katie Greene, Brianna Rossi and Danielle Gottwick scored in the final with Debbie Hahn assisting on Greene's goal. For the series, Hahn scored nine of her team's 18 goals.

Keepers Casey Bruno and Erica Disbrow shared four shutouts.

West Pasco's U-13 girls also played up a division and won, capping a 4-1 run with a 2-1 over Valrico for the U-14 crown. Logan McGee and Tori Watson scored in the final in support of keeper Lisa Jadick.

West Pasco's U-14 boys went 4-0 in its series, including a 4-1 win over Hernando in the final. Lane Miller scored twice with Juan Lopez and Zach Zappakosta each adding a goal.

"The whole tournament, they looked very sharp, coach Zeljko Ratkovic said. "They were very serious. They came to learn."

The county's other champions were Hudson's U-17 girls and the East Pasco U-17 boys.

Hudson went 3-0-1 in its division and beat Hernando 2-0 in the final. Lindsey Zullo and Katie Assof scored to back keeper Jess Imbimbo's shutout.

Coach Pat Jones labeled a 3-1 win over West Pasco in pool play as his team's best game. Zullo scored twice and Alicia Schuering once in that contest, which was tied at 1 at halftime.

"They gave us fits," Jones said of West Pasco, adding, "It was a very solid tournament."

Contact Steve Lee at lee@sptimes.com.

[Last modified September 13, 2006, 01:09:34]