Wildcats rally for a draw

Alex Zimmerman was carried off the field by a pair of teammates after re-injuring his left foot during the first half of Wednesday's game between Land O'Lakes and Wesley Chapel. The Gators junior defenseman suffered a severe fracture during football season and was forced to wear a walking boot.

By IZZY GOULD
Published January 11, 2007

Alex Zimmerman was carried off the field by a pair of teammates after re-injuring his left foot during the first half of Wednesday's game between Land O'Lakes and Wesley Chapel. The Gators junior defenseman suffered a severe fracture during football season and was forced to wear a walking boot.

There was no indication how serious Wednesday's injury was other than Zimmerman stayed stationary on the bench throughout the rest of the game.

"That really disrupted our flow in the game," Gators coach Mark Pearson said. "If he is injured longterm we'll have to figure it out. It could be a big loss for us."

LAND O'LAKES - These brisk winter nights are brutal for the losers.

Wesley Chapel was one half from another ice-cold defeat on back-to-back nights against arguably the county's two top teams. Through grit and a second-half surge the Wildcats rallied from two goals down to tie Land O'Lakes 3-3 on Wednesday.

Other than pride, this was a chance for both schools to grab a sneak peek at each other before the Class 5A, District 7 district tournament. The seedings were set before the game. Land O'Lakes, which will host the tournament in two weeks, holds the No. 1 seed and Wesley Chapel is No. 2.

The Wildcats didn't want to drop their first two games of the year entering an 11-day break before the tournament. They played well against Pasco on Tuesday, but gave up three goals in the second half in a 5-4 loss.

Trailing 3-1 against Land O'Lakes, Wildcats coach Brian Dorkowski tried to rally his shivering bench at halftime.

"We took a page out of Pasco's book the way they played us Tuesday," Dorkowski said. "We figured we're already losing 3-1. Who cares if they score more goals?"

Wesley Chapel (11-5-1, 5-1-2) moved a defenseman up and went on the attack. The result was a pair of goals from juniors Matt Colontonio and Jose Ojeda to give the Wildcats their second tie of the season.

The effort spoiled a solid first half by the Gators (17-3-1, 7-0-1) and the hustle of senior striker Louis Falcon, who scored twice and assisted on Land O'Lakes' second goal by Felix Soto.

"Louis has been playing great all season," Land O'Lakes coach Mark Pearson said. "The goals he scored tonight were both good goals. For us to keep moving forward he has to continue to score."

Wesley Chapel 3

Land O'Lakes 3

[Last modified January 11, 2007, 05:40:37]