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Looking Back: December

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By EDDIE DANIELS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 31, 2007

LAND O' LAKES - Pasco forward Jose Montelongo has always been a feared scorer when he takes the field for a soccer match.

He proved why Dec. 19 at Des Little Stadium when he blasted three goals against Gulf - in a 4-1 victory - to become Pasco County's all-time scoring leader.

His 128th goal surpassed the mark of 127 set by former Gulf standout Novica Maric in 2005.

"It's an honor," said Montelongo, who played against Maric when he was a freshman and scored his first career goal at Des Little Stadium. "It's a good record, but I feel the same."
Montelongo scored his first goal that night with in 35 minutes remaining, when he punched one through the legs of Buccaneers goalkeeper Joe Kanaan.

The record-tying goal came with two minutes remaining in the contest. Montelongo, a senior, received a pass from Roman Farias, which he headed into the net.

The record-breaker came in injury time.

Montelongo, who scored 19 goals as a freshman, 44 as a sophomore and 31 as a junior, re-directed teammate Cody Summer's pass to the right side of the net for the score.

"Congratulations to him. When he puts them away, he puts them away," Pasco coach Barry Grayling said. "...and I think that record's going to be just a little higher than 127."

As an exchange, Grayling gave the Bucs two new balls, allowing Montelongo to keep the record-breaking ball.

Now the scorer has his sights set on a school record he set as a sophomore - 44 goals in a season.

Horns Pointed In Right Direction

After a disheartening 3-16-1 inaugural season, the Wiregrass Ranch boys soccer team made a promising turn. The squad started this season 4-1-2 in Class 4A-District 8 play.

The Bulls earned victories against Hernando, Zephyrhills, Hudson and Gulf.

"As long as we can stay away from the big schools, we'll be OK," said Bulls coach David Wilson, referring to his squad's losses to county power Land O' Lakes and a larger River Ridge squad. "It's been a big turnaround from last year to now."

Hurricanes Redirect Course

The Bishop McLaughlin football program withdrew from Class 1B-District 6 and will play as an independent. The program has set a timetable of the 2011-12 school year to return to district play.

The Hurricanes, which went 7-20 in varsity play the past three seasons and leaves a district that includes Bradenton Prep, Calvary Christian, Cambridge, Keswick Christian and Sarasota Out-of-Door.

"We're a young school," football coach Marty Williams said. "Enrollment didn't increase like we thought it would for whatever reason. We kind of looked at the games that we played, where were we going with the results of those games and felt like it was a good time to revamp ourselves. We're a young enough program where we could do so."

Following a 5-5 campaign in 2006, Bishop McLaughlin fought through the graduation of 11 seniors, injuries and several transfers to go 1-8 this season. The team had only four seniors this year. In their inaugural season, the Hurricanes compiled a 1-7 record.

Aitken National Player Of The Year

Former Land O' Lakes star Shannon Aitken was honored as the NSCAA National Player of the Year for NCAA Division II as she led the University of Tampa to its first national soccer championship.

Aitken concluded her senior season with a record of 20-2-3 in goal with a 0.61 goals-against average, while leading Tampa to the NCAA title in a victory against Franklin Pierce. She allowed only 16 goals in 25 matches and 2354:46 minutes of play.

She registered a school-record 14 shutouts in her senior season to finish with 40 for her UT career, also a school record. Aitken's 59 career wins are also a UT record.

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