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Ravens Complete Turnaround

Photo by JOE DiCRISTOFALO

Springstead junior Josh Peirce

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By TONY CASTRO SPORTS EDITOR

Hernando Today

Published: December 31, 2008

Updated: 12/31/2008 10:58 am

NEW PORT RICHEY - OK, so the worst to first scenario is out.
On Wednesday night in the finals of the eighth annual Ridgewood Ram Boys Soccer Winter Tournament, red hot Springstead High finally ran out gas after reaching the tourney's title game for the first time.
SHS was attempting to completely reverse last winter's uncharacteristic 0-3 debacle in West Pasco County.
Tampa-Alonso, which finished 25-7-2 last winter, losing in the Class 6A regional finale to Ocoee, defended its 2007 Ridgewood Ram title at Booster Stadium by solving the Eagles, 3-1.
The Ravens, who last week went 0-3 in local prep tourney, this time finished 3-0 at Ridgewood by scoring twice in the first half on goals by Tristan Velez at 17:30 and Adam Bonanno at 24:00.
Velez's header arrived courtesy of a feed by Alejandro Garcia.
Abraham Garcia assisted on Bonanno's goal.
In match where the Ravens (6-4-3) carried the tempo and the pace, the Hillsborough County squad out-shot Springstead 18-5 overall and appeared a step quicker all night.
SHS players appeared lethargic and tired. Plus, by the end of the match, four starters were not the pitch for a variety of bumps and bruises applying ice packs.
Regardless of who was on the pitch, Springstead sliced the 2-0 halftime deficit in two four minutes into the second half when senior forward Stephan Philippeaux was fouled in the scoring box resulting in a penalty kick.
Here, junior Josh Peirce whistled a shot inside the near post that Alonso goalkeeper Kenny Gilbert never had a chance on, 2-1.
But nine minutes later, Alonso iced the match on Victor Stigson unassisted goal, 3-1 Ravens.
"We had a good match tonight," described the 17-year-old Stigson. "Springstead has good sportsmanship. They don't run their mouths like some other teams we've played. They've got fast players and they're pretty good. I think the difference tonight was our motivation. We lost three times last week and didn't want that again."
How about tourney wins in back-to-back seasons?
"It feels pretty good," smiled the 18-year-old Velez. "We all wanted it (win). We were so much more focused this weekend than last. It was like we all fought for each other."
"Springstead is a very good team," commented the 15-year-old Abraham Garcia. "I'd love playing those guys again, it was a good match. I think we wanted this big time. I'm just a freshman and this was the first tournament I've ever won in high school. We just bonded together. I think we could make states this year."

Tables turned

Ravens Head Coach Ray Dipompo was quick to point out the difference a week can make.
"Last week, we lost to three very good teams," said Dipompo. "We could have easily won any of those matches, let alone all three. This week we played very well and we played with a purpose.
"I love this tournament," he smiled. "I love coming here. It's well run and we face some good competition."
Biggest positive in a week's time?
"We got guys to play," he said. "We played everybody; that's great. Winning is a bonus."
What about winning the team title for a second straight season?
"I guess you could say we had bull's eyes on our backs," he responded. "But we lost 90 percent of our offense from last year. We found some goals this week. To me, this is a completely different team than last year."
From the other sideline, Springstead's veteran Head Coach Sal Calabrese took the proceedings in stride.
"Some of our guys had seven matches in five days," pointed out Calabrese. "Tonight, we ran out of steam. We had some injuries to look after, but none of them are serious."
What was the most encouraging sign following the end of the Eagles' eight-match win skein?
"We had five different guys score goals this week," said Calabrese, noting that his leading scorer Terry Wald was out of state visiting relatives. "We proved we don't have to rely on our strikers to score and defensively we've continued to play well.
"The boys don't like to train over the holidays," added Calabrese. "They'd rather play, I agree. They learn more by playing."
What about the program's longest winning streak in five seasons being halted?
"Hey, all good things must come to an end," said Calabrese. "When we come back from the break we've got Pasco, we'll just have to start new streak."

Tampa-Alonso 3, Springstead 1
ALON 2 1 — 3
SPG 0 1 — 1
Goals – ALON: Velez, Bonanno, Stigson; SPG: Peirce.
Assists – ALON: Alejandro Garcia, Abraham Garcia.
Shots on goal – ALON: 18; SPG: 5.
Saves – ALON: Gilbert 0, Dipompo 0; SPG: Lasala 10.
Yellow Cards – ALON: Sugrue (unsporting behavior); SPG: Sullivan (unsporting behavior).
Blue Cards – none.
Red Cards – none.
Records: Tampa-Alonso (6-4-3), Springstead (11-4-2).

8th annual Ridgewood Winter
Boys Soccer Tournament Results

12-29:
Clearwater 2, Armwood 1
Alonso 8, St. Pete. Catholic 1
Springstead 4, Newsome 1
Ely 4, Ridgewood 0

12-30:
Newsome 6, Ridgewood 1
St. Pete. Catholic 5, Armwood 0
Springstead 1, Ely 0
Alonso 4, Clearwater 0

12-31:
Armwood 7, Ridgewood 1
Newsome 4, St. Pete. Catholic 2
Ely 3, Clearwater 1
(Championship)
Alonso 3, Springstead 1
NOTE: Alonso wins team title in back-to-back seasons).

Sports Editor Tony Castro can be reached at (352) 544-5278 or online at acastro@hernandotoday.com.

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