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Short-handed Panthers shut out Bears

Backup goalie Damian Kopera plays flawlessly, making Greg Schell's goal all Lecanto needs to defeat Central.

By KEITH NIEBUHR

© St. Petersburg Times, published January 19, 2001

LECANTO -- With two players suspended, two injured and one out of town, Lecanto coach Bruce Sheffield feared the worst.

Turns out, he had nothing to worry about.

Greg Schell scored his 13th goal of the season and keeper Damian Kopera stopped 10 shots as the Panthers defeated Central 1-0.

"It was a big win," Sheffield said. "That's a very good team.

"We had a lot of adversity today. I challenged them to step it up."

Schell's goal, which came on a direct kick in the 47th minute, was all the scoring Lecanto needed. The kick bounced off of the hands of Central keeper Bobby Batista and into the net.

Kopera's play was unexpected to say the least.

With regular keeper Nick Rowthorn out because of a hip injury, Kopera, a junior who normally plays forward or midfielder for Lecanto (10-4-2), stepped in and was flawless. Kopera last played keeper in a game for Lecanto's junior varsity two seasons ago.

"I felt really good," Kopera said. "I'm proud of what I did. I was real nervous. This was a big game for us. I was happy to step up."

Kopera had three saves in the first half and seven in the second half, when Central (9-3-3) had a flurry of shots. Because Rowthorn was injured Tuesday night, Kopera had just one day of practice to prepare for a Central team that has been one of the area's best.

"That's one of our biggest wins," Sheffield said. "Central has very good skill players and is very well-coached."

Central outshot Lecanto 21-14, with 17 of its shots coming in the second half.

The Bears had several scoring opportunities but were plagued by poor passing and poor decisions.

"That was our worst game of the season without a doubt," Central coach John Andruss said.

"Our ball control was awful, and our touch passes were poor. We were flat and didn't play well."

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