Girls soccer: Don't be fooled by her size

Though small, Newsome's Ana Cate makes big contributions on the field.

By BRANDON WRIGHT, Times Correspondent
Published January 29, 2008

ADVERTISEMENT [Daniel Wallace | Times] Newsome coach Kelly Townsend says Ana Cate, right, battling with King's Meghan Lavrusky, has "phenomenal" ball skills.

LITHIA - Looking at her stats, Ana Cate doesn't stand out. And at first glance on the field, the Newsome junior looks far from dominating. But watch her play, and ...

"I personally haven't seen any one around who's better," Newsome coach Kelly Townsend said. "In the three years I've been here, she's gotten better and better."

That sure says a lot about a player barely on the positive side of 5 feet tall.

"Come on," Cate said. "You've got to go with 5-foot-2."

Cate is short in stature, but her impact for Newsome is gigantic. Her season totals may be pedestrian - nine goals and six assists - but much like her size, there's more upon close inspection.

Think Tasmanian Devil meets Ronaldinho.

"Her ball skills are absolutely phenomenal," Townsend said. "She's one in a million."

As a central midfielder, Cate provides the link between the Wolves' backs and strikers. She checks back on defense, owns the middle third of the field and can penetrate into the attacking zone to distribute the ball. And in terms of aggressiveness, Cate doesn't give - pardon the pun - one inch.

"I've always been not as big or not as strong as who I'm playing against," Cate said. "So that just made me work harder and be three times more aggressive."

But Cate and the Wolves have their work cut out for them tonight when Newsome plays host Bloomingdale at 7 in the region semifinals. The Bulls have beaten Newsome twice this season and are the only blemish on the Wolves' 15-2 record.

"Bloomingdale's on our minds from the minute the schedule comes out to when we play them," Cate said.

But the Bulls (14-3-2) have done more than just beat the Wolves twice - they've shut them out in a pair of 1-0 wins. Cate said the offensive chances have been there and it's just a matter of completing the "final step," but 160 minutes of scoreless soccer against the Bulls this year is getting old.

"Yeah," Townsend said. "It's very frustrating."

Region semifinals

All games tonight at 7

Class 5A   |   Newsome (15-2) at Bloomingdale (14-3-2) 

The dish: Both teams have state championship capabilities. Behind a strong defense and the play of keeper Christina Coca, Bloomingdale has seven straight shutouts. Both Newsome losses were to the Bulls. And both were by 1-0 scores. Against everyone else, the Wolves have an 84-1 scoring edge. 

Class 3A   |   Berkeley Prep (10-10-3) at CCC (18-5-3)

The dish: Clearwater Central Catholic won the teams’ previous meetings, 2-1 in the regular season and 2-0 in the district final. But the Buccaneers are confident after last week’s win over one-loss Fort Myers Bishop Verot. Berkeley Prep has played 17 games against playoff teams. Taylor Richardson, a defender, leads the Bucs with 11 goals.

Class 2A   |   Shorecrest Prep (15-4-1) at Tampa Prep (22-1-1)

The dish: The Terrapins have outscored foes 119-11. Senior forward Chelsea Klotz, a USF commit, ranks first in the state with 55 goals and also has 13 assists. Not to be overlooked, Paige Goodwin has produced 27 goals and 15 assists. Shorecrest freshman Jenn Casey leads Pinellas County with 31 goals.

Keith Niebuhr, Times staff writer 

[Last modified January 29, 2008, 00:43:09]