Boys soccer: Mitchell lets lead slip away, ties Pasco

By David Murphy
Published December 14, 2007

NEW PORT RICHEY - There are two sides to every tie.

As Pasco walked in an upbeat manner toward its waiting bus, members of the Mitchell boys soccer team trudged silently out of their locker room, a stern lecture from coach Oscar Ubillus still ringing in their ears.

"We made five mistakes that cost us," Ubillus said later. "They put three of them in."

After dominating the first half against a Pasco team with one loss, Mitchell let a 2-0 lead turn into a 3-all tie, hindering its case for Pasco County supremacy.

Two minutes after Pasco's Henry Hollander tied it at 2, Mitchell's David Vasquez blasted a shot over goalkeeper Jacob Pollock to give the Mustangs a 3-2 lead with 8:50 remaining.

But with 4:25 remaining, Pirates forward Cody Sumner tied it with his second goal of the match.

"I would say that it was a pretty good tie," Sumner said. "The first couple games, we haven't started playing until the second half."

That was the source of Ubillus' frustration. Mitchell dominated the first half, at one point out-shooting the Pirates 10-1.

Midfielder Brad Chapman scored 13 minutes into the match, and Nick Orrego added a goal with 10:05 remaining in the first half to give the Mustangs a 2-0 lead at halftime. But Mitchell came up empty on several scoring opportunities, including one with 10:57 remaining in the first half when Pollock smothered a shot by Rob Coleman from point-blank range.

Pasco (10-1-1) scored its goals in the final 20 minutes, the first of which came with 19:18 remaining from Cody Sumner off a corner kick from his brother, Trent.

"It should have been over by halftime," Ubillus said.

Nevertheless, Mitchell (11-4-2) will have an opportunity for another big statement Wednesday when it hosts a Land O'Lakes team regarded as the county's best.

[Last modified December 13, 2007, 22:53:30]