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Bloomingdale edges into final

By MIKE READLING

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 14, 2001

WEST PALM BEACH -- Most people shy away from or complain about playing in a district with one of the most powerful teams in the nation.

Bloomingdale coach Sue Peet relishes the opportunity and Tuesday night in her team's Class 4A, Region 2 semifinal against Wellington she showed why.

The Bulls withstood a furious Wolverine rally to begin the game but used experience and ball control to take over, finally scoring in the 50th minute and holding on for a 1-0 victory.

Bloomingdale (18-2-4) will now travel to Winter Park on Friday for the chance to advance to the state final four for the second consecutive year. "My head is about to pop," Peet said. "This was worth the three-and-a-half-hour bus trip."

As expected Wellington (24-3-1) came out firing to start the game. The Wolverines ripped 10 shots in the first half, a majority of them coming in the first 20 minutes.

Whether it was an Erin Redfield free kick just over the cross bar or a Jennifer Gomez rocket from anywhere she got the ball, Wellington made Bloomingdale goalkeeper Megan Robey work all night.

While Robey made several diving stops and punched a couple of liners over the top of the net, she was aided by some unlucky Wolverine rolls.

Several shots scooted just wide of the post or careened inches above the cross bar.

Bloomingdale finally got on the board when Megan Snaider crashed the penalty box and got her head on the first bounce of a Kim Martins throw-in. The ball bounced once and wobbled past keeper Lauren Perkins for the deciding score.

"I knew we had to weather them for the first 20 minutes," Peet said. "They were playing at home and I knew they were going to come out like a bat out of hell.

"I figured they had some big guns but we played Palm Harbor (formerly ranked No. 1 in the nation) this year and they have some big guns, too. We withstood their storm a couple of times. I knew we could withstand this one, too."

3A: Sarasota blasts King

Sarasota defeated King 8-0 in a Region 3 semifinal at Sarasota.

Sarasota (25-2-2) will play host to Land O'Lakes -- a 1-0 winner over Seminole -- in the region final Friday. King ended the season 18-4-2.

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