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Crusaders succumb to late assault

Lakewood comes on strong in the second half to oust Tampa Catholic.

By PETE YOUNG

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 14, 2001

ST. PETERSBURG -- Falling behind in soccer is like falling behind to the Baltimore Ravens: If it happens, you're in trouble.

Twice in the first half, millimeters separated Tampa Catholic from a 1-0 lead at Lakewood in the Region 3 semifinal. Both times, the post denied the Crusaders, and they went to halftime scoreless.

Opportunity lost, TC was overwhelmed by the swarming Spartans in the second half, and Lakewood prevailed 3-0.

The Spartans (17-4-1) will travel to East Bay, a 3-2 winner over Tarpon Springs, on Friday for a berth in the state final four. It's Lakewood's third region final appearance in the past four years. Tampa Catholic finished 16-7-3.

The first half was back and forth, with both teams having multiple near-misses. TC's best opportunity came in the 19th minute, when sophomore forward Chrissy Cuppett's 25-yard shot from the left side appeared targeted for the far corner. However, Lakewood goalkeeper Ashley Klemme got a fingertip on it, and it deflected off the post.

In the second half, Lakewood outshot TC 14-1.

"In the first half, I think we matched up really well with them," Tampa Catholic coach Rori Rushing-Braum said. "Unfortunately, we're a first-half team."

Lakewood got off four shots in the first four minutes of the second half and broke through in the 50th minute on a 20-yard, left-footed rocket from Jenny Borschel.

The Spartans kept up the pressure and scored two more beautiful goals, by Suzi Herbert on a header and by Erica Williams on a pass from Herbert. Solid play and booming punts by TC goalkeeper Ali Doyle prevented Lakewood from tacking on a few more goals.

Meanwhile, the Crusaders, with just two seniors in the lineup, couldn't muster a counterattack. The deeper and more experienced Spartans controlled the final 40 minutes.

"I'm proud of my team, they didn't give up," Rushing-Braum said. "We've had a rough season, we've had our ups and downs. We hit our low point about four weeks ago, and I didn't even think we'd make it this far.

"The last three weeks we changed our system and we trained really hard, and I'm very proud of these girls."

Fast start keys East Bay

GIBSONTON -- Using ball control by dominating midfield and accurate passing on the wings, East Bay started fast and held on for a 3-2 victory over Tarpon Springs.

The Indians scored their first goal in nine minutes added another before the half was over. Although they went into a defensive mode in the second half, they maintained enough control in the final 14 minutes to secure the win and hold home field advantage for the Friday night regional final against Lakewood.

"We played well in the first half, but really looked flat until near the end of the game," East Bay coach Claudine Sosa said. "Tarpon Springs has a well-conditioned team and it showed in the second half. We will simply work on the basic skills of passing and shooting between now and Friday night."

From the opening whistle, the Indians continued to attack, keeping the ball in the Spongers' end. At nine minutes and on the fourth shot, Anna Hernandez received a pass from Alyse Migliaro and kicked it into the left side of the net.

Tarpon Springs struggled so much on defense the first half, it managed only five shots.

With five minutes remaining in the half, Migliaro carried the ball down the right wing again passing to Lisa Verbosky near the right post. Verbosky made the score 2-0 with an accurate kick.

In the second half the Spongers came out smoking and played in the Indians end until 10 minutes into the second half when Migliaro broke away and made another pass down the right side and passing this time to Kari Carlin. Carlin placed the ball in the back of the net for a 3-0 lead.

But less than a minute later on a Sponger fast break, Lisa Johnson received a pass from Jessica Moore and headed it in for a score.

Paige Beyer scored the final Sponger with 14 minutes remaining in the game. Libby Gianeskis recorded the assist.

"We notoriously have slow starts," Tarpon Springs coach Derry Bohlender said. "They took it to us early and we were not able to come back soon enough."- TERRY JONES

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