Sports: Bishop Moore stings Pirates

Bishop Moore stings Pirates

By CAREY FREEMAN

CRYSTAL RIVER -- Bishop Moore obviously learned its lesson.

After falling behind by two goals in the first half during its last three trips to the regional semifinals, the Hornets were determined not to make the same mistake in Tuesday's Class 2A, Region 2 semifinal against Crystal River.

Mission accomplished.

Bishop Moore's Jeff Cabral gave the Hornets (24-4-3) their first goal less than one minute into the game. Three more goals -- combined with stellar defense -- earned the defending state champions a 4-1 victory and another trip to the regional final.

"The last three years in the semifinals we've come out and gotten two goals behind," Hornets coach Mark Keymont said. "We knew about their potent attack and they are very dynamic so we knew we had to come out and score first. "

Bishop Moore's early emphasis on offense paid off handsomely against a Crystal River team that never seemed to recover. Making matters worse for the Pirates (18-2-2) was the Hornets determination to add to the lead, something they did when leading scorer Frank Ambrosio back-heeled home a Chris Meehan cross in the 14th minute for a 2-0 advantage.

Determined to make a game of it, Crystal River pulled within one goal in the 32nd minute when Brad Deitemeyer sprinted down the sideline, beat two Bishop Moore defenders then crossed to Drew Austin, who put home the easy goal. The Pirates seemed inspired by the goal, but would soon see their hopes deflated on a fluke when sophomore keeper Adam Campbell let the ball slip through his hands on a throw-in in the final minute of the first half.

"The third goal really was the deflating one. You could just see it in everybody," Pirates coach Dave Soluri said. "They got chewed on a bit at halftime and it woke them up. They really played well the first 15 minutes of the second half, but we just couldn't keep it together. "

Crystal River played inspired defense early in the second half, but couldn't produce any offense . The Hornets scored their final goal in the 61st minute when Cabral collected a loose ball and hammered home a shot from the top of the penalty area.