Pinellas: County roundup

By BRYAN BURNS, Times Staff Writer
Published January 11, 2008

Boys soccer

Mitchell might have eliminated Lakewood with its 2-1 win in the final round of group play at the Hurricane Watch boys soccer tournament in Palm Harbor, but to hear Spartans coach Rob Bauer tell it, the competitive nature of the event was just as important as any win or loss.

"This is one of those tournaments that you just pray they ask you to come play," Bauer said. "Especially us on the south side, we don't get these opportunities very often."

Bauer watched as his squad overcame a sluggish start to give Mitchell (12-6-2) all it could handle. Lakewood (8-6) trailed 1-0 at halftime and had few scoring opportunities but put pressure on Mitchell goalie Josh Berres (five saves) in the second. The Spartans were rewarded 12 minutes after halftime when Shane Wixted sent a left-footed shot past Berres to knot it at 1.

Mitchell scored the winner nine minutes later on a Lakewood giveaway deep in its territory. Brad Chapman pounced on the loose ball and easily beat Lakewood goalie Kyle Scannel (six saves) for his second goal of the game.

"We did the same thing Monday against Palm Harbor University," Bauer said. "Our sweeper had a bad touch on the ball twice, and there's two goals right there. When you play a team like Palm Harbor or Mitchell, you can't make those mistakes."

Lakewood had two opportunities to tie it.

One chance from 10 yards away dribbled wide of goal. Then sophomore Brandon Diaz's header with two minutes left sailed over the crossbar.

Mitchell plays East Lake, which beat Dunedin 5-1, at 6 today for third place. Countryside and Palm Harbor University battle for the title at 8 p.m. after both won two games in group play.

Bauer, meanwhile, might owe PHU officials a debt of gratitude if his Lakewood squad, the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Class 5A, District 11 tournament, can sneak into the region playoffs.

"It would have been nice to get a win in here so we could continue playing," Bauer said. "But this is the type of competition we don't get a chance to play on a daily basis, and it'll prepare us for districts."

- East Lake 5, Dunedin 1

East Lake had five players score to advance to the third-place game today.

The Eagles' Drew Petzoldt, Jonathan Gonzalez, Brent Merrick and Nick Patterson all had first-half goals for East Lake (10-2-2), which led 4-1 at the break.

Dunedin's lone goal came from Nicholas Makris with the Falcons (3-10-1) trailing 2-0 in the first half. Merrick scored 12 minutes later to re-establish a two-goal lead for East Lake, and Patterson scored just before the half.

"The boys had two really good practices, and it showed," East Lake coach Sergei Stopek said. "We showed tonight what we're capable of doing."

Steven Aldridge added a goal with 12 minutes left in the game for East Lake. The Eagles outshot Dunedin 16 to 6 for the game.

Girls soccer

- Shorecrest 5, Bradenton Christian 0

Shorecrest leading scorer Jenn Casey recorded a hat trick to lead the visiting Chargers.

With the victory, Shorecrest (11-4-1) wins the Bay Conference Championship.

Shorecrest led just 1-0 at halftime but exploded for four goals in the second half. Bradenton Christian (8-3-5) held Shorecrest in check until goalie Chargers Edie Burns saved a penalty kick. From there, the Chargers offense was uncorked.

Brooke Davis had three assists and a goal for Shorecrest. Bradenton Christian managed only two shots on goal.

- St. Stephen's 2, Indian Rocks Christian 1

Kristin Brown's second-half goal was not enough for host Indian Rocks Christian to overcome a 2-0 halftime deficit against St. Stephen's (9-5).

Goalkeeper Bethany Holman had seven saves for Indian Rocks Christian (10-7).

Boys basketball

- Tampa Prep 72, Indian Rocks Christian 44

Tampa Prep coach Joe Fenlon picked up his 499th victory as coach of the Terrapins.

Indian Rocks led 5-0 early before host Tampa Prep countered with a 27-0 run. David Waller (21 points), Jake Haslem (19 points) and Jamal Cherry (15 points) each had double figures for Tampa Prep (11-1).

Indian Rocks (7-7) was led by Matt Oliphant's 14 points. Oliphant made four buckets from behind the 3-point arc.

- St. Petersburg 42, Alonso 31

Host St. Petersburg didn't allow more than 10 points in a quarter.

"We kind of turned up the pressure defensively," St. Petersburg coach Chris Blackwell said.

Antwan Carter had a monster game for the Green Devils. The 6-foot-4 senior forward led St. Petersburg with 16 points, collected 13 rebounds and blocked nine shots.

"He was a huge force for us inside tonight," Blackwell said.

With the victory, St. Petersburg (12-6) improves to 7-1 in Class 6A, District 7.

Girls basketball

- Boca Ciega 61, Gibbs 57

Host Boca Ciega overcame a 26-22 halftime deficit to avoid the upset.

Tamara Taylor buried four 3-pointers and had a game-high 24 points to lead the way for Boca Ciega (19-2).

Gibbs (10-9) had three players score in double figures, highlighted by Kamika Idom's 18.

[Last modified January 11, 2008, 01:18:13]