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Seffner Christian Avoids Letdown

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By JARRETT GUTHRIE Tribune correspondent

Published: October 24, 2007

SEFFNER - Seffner Christian coach Mark Canterbury was concerned his team's undefeated record against district opponents in the regular season might lead to overconfidence in the Crusaders' opening game of the district tournament. His concerns seemed misplaced as Seffner (18-2-3) dominated possession in its 4-1 Class 1A-District 3 semifinal win against Citrus Park Christian (5-12-2) on Tuesday.

The Crusaders scored first on a throw-in by Steven Cunningham to Mark Sentovich, who flicked a header to Robert Bull, who headed it in.

'Steven Cunningham is the best on this team with throw-ins,' Bull said. 'He threw it in to Mark and I was right there waiting.'

Bull said after the game the team had focused on finishing strong and went into the game with no plans to rest on its regular-season success.

'We came out stronger in the second half,' Bull said. 'But we knew coming in we'd have to be ready to play well the whole game.'

The Crusaders added three more goals in the second half from Austin Parimore, Brett Witherington and David Waldy. The final Crusaders goal came after a pass from Bull to Waldy 20 yards from goal. Waldy dribbled around a Citrus Park defender and struck past the Eagles goalkeeper.

The Eagles' lone goal came late in the second half by sweeper Pierre Komandur.

In the first semifinal, Bayshore Christian's Spencer Shaw scored twice as the Faith Warriors defeated Lecanto Seven Rivers 2-1 on a golden goal in overtime.

Shaw scored the game-winning goal from inside the penalty area in the first overtime off a cross by Robby Dyer.

Seven Rivers took the lead in the 67th minute on a shot by Derrick LeBahn after a corner kick by Ty Commons.

The Faith Warriors responded three minutes later with Shaw's first goal, a sliding strike to the right side of the goal.

'Spencer Shaw stepped up big today,' Bayshore coach Chad Clark said. 'I've expected big things ever since I first saw him.'

Bayshore will face Seffner in the final on Friday at 4:30 p.m. at Seffner.

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