Soccer: Semis boast triple threat

By BRANDON WRIGHT
Published January 5, 2008

TAMPA - A trio of Hillsborough County teams reached today's semis and a fourth missed by a whisker in the final round of pool play of the 14th annual Soccer Field Invitational at Ed Radice Sports Complex.

Tampa Prep (16-0-1) remained undefeated as the Terrapins beat American Heritage 2-1 (3-0 in PKs) to advance to the elite bracket semis today at 1 p.m. Ryan Griffin's first-half goal looked like it would hold up, but American Heritage struck for the equalizer in extra time to tie it.

"We played with great discipline on defense," Tampa Prep coach Jose DaCosta said. "Except for the last 10 seconds."

Keeper Brad Sienkiewicz stopped all three shots he faced during PKs. DaCosta pointed out the strong effort of defenders Chris Friedrich, Sean Regin and Travis Simmons, noting the elevated level of play between what many consider two of the best teams in the state.

"It had a state final atmosphere," DaCosta said.

Jesuit also advanced to the elite semifinals with a 3-0 win over Edgewater. Keith Sierra, Ali VanGurp and Russell Moore scored for the Tigers. With a semifinal win, they could face the Terrapins tonight at 7 in the final.

Gaither scored three goals in the first half and cruised to a 4-0 win over Bishop Moore in the premier bracket. Darnell King notched a pair of strikes, Brendan Howard had one and Zachary Wheeler added another. The win advances Gaither, which hasn't allowed a goal through three tournament matches, into the semifinals today at 11 a.m. against Land O'Lakes. The final is at 5 p.m.

Sickles (5-6-4) overcame a two-goal deficit with second-half strikes from Josh Bissen and Kahleel Forde, but fell just shy of the semifinals after losing 3-2 (4-3 in PKs) to Fernandina Beach. With the score tied at 3 during penalty kicks, Fernandina Beach's final attempt hit the crossbar and came straight down, barely crossing the goal line for the win.

[Last modified January 4, 2008, 23:52:59]