Lone miscue leads to loss

Defensive breakdown of mere seconds mars an otherwise solid outing for Jesuit.

By SCOTT PURKS
Published February 17, 2007

FORT LAUDERDALE - Fernandina Beach didn't have a decent shot at a goal throughout its Class 4A semifinal against Jesuit on Friday - except for a few seconds in the 47th minute.

That's when Jesuit's defense made a rare strategic mistake, rotating briefly out of position and allowing a clean cross to a Pirate 5 feet in front of the net. Jesuit keeper Justin Morris was caught in no-man's land, left to hope the inevitable shot was misfired.

It wasn't.

"All he had to do was chip the ball," Morris said. "It was frustrating because that was by far their best shot. Really, it was their only good shot."

It also was the game's only goal, leaving Jesuit with a 1-0 loss and irritated after a state semifinal setback for the second year in a row.

"It's unfortunate that it had to come down to basically one mistake," Jesuit coach Bob Bauman said. "As I saw the play developing I felt sick to my stomach. But what can you do?

"I'll take the blame because I'm the one coaching the strategy."

On the offensive end the Tigers (23-4-2) had two solid opportunities to bury open shots, the first deflecting off the keeper's thigh midway through the first half. The second, despite playing a man down after Brian Hartlage was red-carded for kicking, came with less than 15 minutes remaining.

Cody Walker had the ball on his foot 15 feet from the net with an almost wide-open shot. But the ball sailed over the crossbar.

"That one hurt to watch," Bauman said. "But hey, sometimes it doesn't take much when you get to this point to win or lose. Fernandina had the one chance and they were a good enough team to make the most of it."

Despite the frustrating final loss, Bauman said this year's squad, which came back after losing 15 players last year to graduation, had everything to be proud of.

"A lot of people gave us no chance to accomplish what we did," Bauman said. "As a whole, this group came together and had a truly remarkable season."

The good news, Bauman said, is that the majority of this year's starters return for the 2007-08 school year.

"We'll take this and hopefully learn from it," Bauman said. "Maybe next time we'll do the little things it takes to get it done."

[Last modified February 16, 2007, 22:40:35]