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Hurricanes fall short in thriller

Citrus stays with powerful Bishop Moore, but can't overcome a 2-0 first-half deficit.

By KEITH NIEBUHR

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 14, 2001

INVERNESS -- Citrus lost its much-anticipated showdown with state-power Orlando Bishop Moore, but in defeat the Hurricanes learned something about themselves.

They can play with any team in Florida.

In a hard-fought game that went down to the wire, Bishop Moore, winner of four state titles since 1989, escaped with a 2-1 win in the second round of the Class 2A state playoffs and advanced to the regional final for the sixth consecutive season. Sonya Segars' goal with 4:49 left in the game brought Citrus within a goal, but the Hornets (26-4-1) hung on to hand Citrus (21-2-3) its third loss in 51 games.

"We played with them," Citrus midfielder Amber Presnick said. "We had a lot of chances, but we just didn't put them away. We shut them down in the second half. It was anybody's game."

In the second half, down 2-0, Citrus played perhaps the best 40 minutes of soccer in the program's six-year history. The Hurricanes controlled the field, won nearly every loose ball battle and outshot Bishop Moore 7-5.

"In the first half, for the most part we controlled the ball," Bishop Moore coach Greg Brick said. "In the second half, they came out to play. They won every 50-50 ball, and Presnick won every ball in the air."

Less than a minute into the second half, Segars was wide on a point-blank shot attempt, and the 'Canes then failed to convert on two corner kicks in the span of a minute. Citrus later missed wide on two shots and was high on another.

At the center of the Citrus rally was Presnick, who fought hard for loose balls and managed to find gaps in a Bishop Moore defense that had none in the first half. With 23 minutes left it looked as if Presnick would get Citrus onto the scoreboard, but Bishop Moore keeper Lindsey Whitehead charged forward and dived on the ball to end the threat. Later in the half, a Presnick shot from 30 yards out hit the post and bounced out of bounds.

"We won on the scoreboard in the second half and I thought on the field of play we won it as well," Citrus coach Brady Bogart said. "We had four great opportunities and just missed shots. The effort we had in the second half was the effort we want year-round."

Bishop Moore was flawless the first half.

The Hornets allowed two shots while taking nine and got two goals from forward Kelly Williams. They scored less than two minutes into the game on a corner kick when Williams took a pass from Taryn Rivera. With 14 minutes left in the half, Williams made it 2-0 on a 30-yard shot from the right wing.

"We didn't overlook them," Brick said. "We did not think we would run away with it at any point."

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