Place an Ad Calendars Classified Forums Sports Weather

sptimes.com Text-only News sections Arts & Entertainment AP The Wire Business Citrus County Columnists Floridian Hernando County Hillsborough Letters Movies Neighborhood Times News Update North Pinellas North of Tampa Obituaries Opinion Pasco County South Pinellas Sports State Tampa Bay TV Times World & Nation  Find your local news section Weekly sections Brandon Times City Times Homes Outdoors Perspective Personal Tech Taste Travel Weekend Xpress Special Sections Arena football Buccaneers College football Devil Rays Lightning Police reports Schools Seniority Subscriber Services Subscribe Renew Help Advertise Place an ad In print Online Market Info Join Us Internships Scholarships Times Jobs Contact us

Gators get third win at Puma

By STEVE LEE

© St. Petersburg Times, published December 23, 2000

TAMPA -- Consecutive appearances in the Puma International taught Land O'Lakes that it's not how often you win, but when you win.

The Gators closed out this season's tournament Friday with a 2-1 win over Winter Park, which gave them a 3-1 record, the same as last season.

But Land O'Lakes, which placed third in last year's tourney, finished eighth this time. The difference is the Gators lost their first game this year, which dropped them into the losers bracket. Last year, they lost their third game. Land O'Lakes coach Mark Pearson lauded the players for winning three games after an opening-round loss.

"We came back and beat two ranked teams," Pearson said of Thursday's wins over Jacksonville Bolles and Flagler Palm Coast.

Land O'Lakes was not challenged as much by Winter Park, taking a 2-0 halftime lead on goals by Alberto Lopez and Justin Read before Pearson substituted liberally in the second half.

Both goals came off through balls from Kyle Crawford, who nearly scored one for himself by hitting the post midway through the second half. Winter Park pulled within one on a Juan Bermudez header past backup keeper Dustin Collins in the 78th minute.

Land O'Lakes improved to 15-1-1, its season-opening unbeaten streak snapped after a 1-0 loss to Clearwater Central Catholic in the first round Wednesday. "You play 30 games. The odds of you going undefeated. ... It's unrealistic," Pearson said. "Even when we were 12-0-1 (before the CCC game), we never thought we'd go undefeated." GATOR GIRLS SPLIT: The Land O'Lakes girls rallied from Thursday's 4-0 loss to Bloomingdale in the first game of the Sarasota Classic by defeating Winter Haven 3-2. Stacy Bishop scored twice, and Jessica Reynolds converted a cross from Kelly Jackson for Land O'Lakes' other goal.

"I think we played a much better second game," Land O'Lakes coach Vicky King said. "We've played some stiff competition, and that's what we came here to do."

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright