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© St. Petersburg Times, published December 14, 2001
SPRING HILL -- Crystal River's reserves couldn't contain a collective "ooh" when Springstead's Greg Emmerman sambaed between four of their defenders Thursday.
Their reluctant appreciation was drowned out a second later when the Eagles midfielder ripped a low shot from 30 yards that ticked off the inside of the far post and into the net, bringing the Springstead bench to full throat.
"I didn't hear the Crystal River guys," Emmerman said. "I was just trying to create some space."
And he did, giving the Eagles (7-0-1) a two-goal lead in an eventual 3-1 win. The loss was Crystal River's (7-1-2) first and reinforced Springstead as one of the top two teams in the North Suncoast.
"This was kind of nice," Springstead coach Sal Calabrese said of beating a team that had handled the Eagles in four of five previous meetings.
Emmerman scored Springstead's first two goals to give him four for the season.
With less than a minute left in the first half, he darted through the box on a direct kick from Bobby Colon and headed a shot backwards past keeper Adam Campbell.
Crystal River played without four regulars, ultimately falling victim to its own style.
Springstead dominated possession and created chances while the Pirates' offense consisted of trying to chase down long passes.
It wasn't a successful tack against a team that came in with five consecutive shutouts and one goal allowed this season.
Crystal River finally ended the Eagles' shutout streak at 511 minutes when Brad Deitemeyer scored off a Josh Caldwell corner kick in the 23rd minute of the second half.
Comeback thoughts lasted less than 5 minutes, however, as Jordan Magrini scored from about 20 yards for a 3-1 lead.
"They outplayed us," Crystal River coach Bobby Verlato said. "When they got that last one, the players, the staff ... it kind of took the wind out of our sails."
Springstead keeper Dan Calabrese made three saves on 10 shots. Campbell made six saves on 18 shots.