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BOYS SOCCER: Patriots, Wildcats Duel To Scoreless Tie

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By NICHOLAS MURRAY | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 12, 2008

TAMPA – Freedom had its opportunities, but was unable to beat Wharton goalkeeper Alex Stickley as the Wildcats held the host Patriots to a 0-0 draw on Friday night.

Stickley made a number of crucial saves, including two within the last 10 minutes to deny Freedom a winner. Mike Panter saw his free kick from 25 yards tipped over the crossbar, and Stickley got down to his left to save from Taylor Nails, who had been put in by Deion Jones.

"They had a lot of good shots, but I was just trying to keep the ball in front of me, keep us in the game," Stickley said. "I was hoping to get a goal, we didn't get it, but a shutout? I'll take it."

"He kept us in the game early on," Wharton coach Scott Ware said. "We held on for the first 40, got in with a 0-0 tie. Second half we had some more chances on goal, but it's still not where we want to be."

Jones was a constant threat to the Wharton defense, and a low-driven corner almost caught Stickley off-guard early in the first half, his defense clearing the rebound. Jones also had a snap shot from the left well-saved.

Jones said it was a frustrating night, as the Patriots were looking for a win in both teams' final district game.

"We had chances, we just couldn't put them away," Jones said. "It's a little frustrating."

Without midfielder Joey Layton, out for the season with a broken leg suffered against Tampa Bay Tech on Dec. 2, the Wildcats struggled to maintain possession. Their best chance came in the 16th minute when a long free kick by David Campbell was deflected to Konner Dozark alone in the penalty area, but Dozark struck his volley well over the crossbar.

Other than that, Wharton was limited to outside shots that Freedom goalkeeper Kyle Peel was able to handle easily.

The Patriots showed more initiative going forward and were the better side for most of the game as they knocked the ball around with some fluidity. Mike Grubbs nearly finished a quick give-and-go on the edge of the box late in the first half, only for Stickley to deflect the shot wide.

"I thought we came out and played well today," Freedom coach Dennis Derflinger said. "We had a lot of opportunities to score, we just didn't finish this evening."

But as with previous Freedom-Wharton matches, periods of the game were sloppy, as long passes didn't find their intended targets, and defenders took the easy option of clearing their lines into touch or deep downfield.

"The game was kind of how we expected," Derflinger said. "Anytime we play Wharton, regardless of what school is supposedly up player-wise, this was the type of game we expect, a tie or a one-goal game."

Nicholas J.E. Murray can be reached at (813) 259-8243

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