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Freedom Scores Big Upset

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A Tribune staff report

Published: February 1, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - Freedom's Bobby Huertas described it as "a striker's dream" - a misplayed ball inside the Land O' Lakes 18-yard box that became his single best chance to break through the normally unbreakable Gators defense.

With a little speed and a lot of hustle, Huertas' dream turned into the deciding goal, and kept the Patriots' dreams of a state title alive with a 1-0 win at Gator Stadium in the Class 5A-Region 2 quarterfinals.

"As a team, I thought we were in trouble, we were going to be in for a heck of a game, which Land O' Lakes definitely gave us," said Huertas, Hillsborough County's leading scorer with 36 goals. "I knew they were going to possess the ball and be really fast, but we came out here and played defense, and got the job done."

Huertas' goal came with 32:15 remaining in the second half, which led to a tense finish for Freedom (20-5) coach Dennis Derflinger. But a packed-in defense, and seven saves by goalkeeper Kyle Peel, frustrated Land O' Lakes in the closing minutes and preserved the win.

The loss will send shockwaves through the nation's prep soccer scene. Land O' Lakes (25-2-1) was the No. 5-ranked team in the nation (No. 2 in Florida behind Class 6A Miami Varela), had scored at least two goals in every game and hadn't lost since Dec. 7, shutting out 11 of their last 15 opponents before Thursday.

But all the hype ended promptly at the final horn, as Freedom notched its first win against a nationally ranked opponent. Land O' Lakes has won four consecutive district titles, but also lost three consecutive regional quarterfinal games.

"This is a cruel sport sometimes. Nothing against them, but the better team sometimes doesn't win," Gators coach Mark Pearson said. "We dominated every aspect of the game except for putting the ball in the back of the net. We made one mistake in the back, and they capitalized on it. I give Bobby credit for that. But other than that, this was our game. We dominated the game."

Bart O'Connell

Asare-Bedlako's Hat Trick Lifts Wharton

TAMPA - Maybe Wharton coach Scott Ware's sarcastic comments during practice were just what star striker Ryan Asare-Bedlako needed to break out of a big-time slump.

Mired in a five-game scoring drought following a 23-goal season as a junior, Asare-Bedlako recorded a hat trick as Wharton parlayed a four-goal first half into a dominating 5-0 victory over visiting River Ridge.

"I'm definitely very sarcastic with him, but it's done in a teaching way and very lighthearted," Ware said. "I told him, 'All strikers go through droughts. If you put one in, the floodgates will open.' "

Wharton defeated Freedom at home last week in a shootout for the Class 5A-District 8 championship.

Robert Sklaver and Joe Layton each added first-half goals as Wharton held a commanding 18-9 shots advantage.

Wharton dominated throughout, using its speed to keep River Ridge pinned in its end of the field much of the night. On the few occasions the Royal Knights did have scoring opportunities, the cross bar and post, just as much as Wharton goalkeeper Scott Montgomery, were there to stymie them.

Trailing 1-0 following Sklaver's high blast that hit the crossbar and bounced into the net, River Ridge's Vinny Panetta was denied by the crossbar. Then, after Asare-Bedlako scored his first goal to make it 2-0, Alex Ratkovic's free kick hit the near post.

Chris Errington

Pasco Gets Win On The Road Against Harmony

HARMONY - Pasco wasn't very happy when it lost to Hudson in the district final, forcing the Pirates to travel to Harmony for their regional quarterfinal. But it was worth the drive as Pasco (21-5-2) downed the Longhorns 3-1 to advance to Tuesday semifinals against Orlando Bishop Moore.

The first half was a slow one for the Pirates. The first shot on net was by senior forward Jose Montelongo in the 30th minute. Montelongo has scored a total of 48 goals and has assisted 16 times this season, including one goal and one assist Thursday night.

Harmony came out fast in the second half with junior forward Dalton Everett scoring after just 36 seconds elapsed on the clock. Not to be outdone, Pirates junior defender Roman Farias scored the equalizer 46th minute. Senior forward Henry Hollander put the Pirates up 2-1 in the 65th. But it was Montelongo who sealed the game in the 77th minute.

Although seniors Montelongo, Ryan Lowery, and James Sumner were looking forward to a rematch with Hudson, they will settle for Bishop Moore.

"It's just another game." assistant coach Warren Lowery said. "If we are ready to play, we'll be fine."

Jessica Etter

Orlando Bishop Moore Gangs Up On Hudson

HUDSON - Seven different players scored goals as Orlando Bishop Moore downed Hudson 7-1 to advance to the regional semifinals.

"They are a good team," said Hudson coach Paul Vescio of Bishop Moore. "They were a little quicker and had a little better ball control. We came out a little flat. I think there was a little hangover from the Pasco game. Don't be satisfied with that the district title, I told them. They didn't quit. We have had a great year.

"We were picked to be ninth in the county. We are glad to be here. We had opportunities. They had him Scotty Combs marked and he is hard to mark.

Combs, a junior, had 39 goals and 13 assists for the season but Bishop Moore shut him out Thursday night.

Bishop Moore outshot Hudson 27-15 in the contest.

Bishop Moore's Tim Carr scored the first goal in the game's 12th minute. Teammate Cory Davis scored the second 10 minutes later and Mark Keymont finished off the first-half scoring in the 31st minute.

Hudson's only goal was scored when Wayne Ewing booted a shot from 10 yards out and Bishop Moore goalkeeper dropped the ball for the score.

"We're happy. I have 16 of those guys coming back," Vescio said. "Bishop Moore have some good shooters out there."

Larry Bugg

Spanos Does The Job In Shorecrest's Win

ST. PETERSBURG - With two minutes remaining in a tied quarterfinal match, Stephen Spanos' game-winning shot capped a thrilling comeback win for Shorecrest over Fort Myers Evangelical Christian.

"He's our leading goal scorer. He does it every game. We don't take it for granted but we expect goals from him because he's that good," Shorecrest coach Jeff Diedrich said.

Phil Vestergaard provided the bulk of the Charger offense. He contributed the first goal: a 16 yard booming free kick from center, ten minutes into the match.

"He's our team captain, senior and our MVP, voted by the players. He's got a rocket of a leg. He is one of the best free kickers I have ever seen," Diedrich said.

Shorecrest relented in the second half, allowing Evangelical to nearly escape with a win.

Sam Lunsford tied the match for the Sentinels by putting his penalty kick to the right of Charger keeper Toms Bernhards.

The Sentinels' Thomas Ludsford charged into the box and put a right footer into the Charger goal with 15 minutes remaining. The goal put them ahead for the first time and the Sentinels appeared to have the match in hand.

"We had them down 2-1 and they were getting frustrated. We should have put a third one in. At that point it would have been over. They came back, fought and did the job," Evangelical coach Jon Wilson said.

But it was another monster free kick by Vestergaard, this time from 30 yards out and in the dwindling final minutes that kept the Chargers alive. He also played the majority of the second half with a yellow card.

Matthew Parke

St. Stephen's Advances On Mercy-Rule Rout

BRADENTON - With nine minutes left in the first half, St. Stephen's coach Marc Jones emptied his bench.

It would get no better for visiting Northside Christian in the second half. That's because there wasn't one.

What's rarely seen in high school boys soccer, a match halted at halftime, was witnessed Thursday at the Falcons' pitch.

The home team outclassed the Mustangs every way possible, getting three goals from junior Kyle Bellinger in an 8-0 victory in a Class 2A-Region 3 quarterfinal match.

Besides Bellinger, the Falcons got goals from Ryley Delgado, Donato Carrassi, Alexander Walters, Adam Vining and Chris Scott.

Before the match, Mustangs coach Eric Macke feared his team would have a tough job on its hands.

Northside, winners just once last season, had won five games coming in, but were missing six starters due to injury.

But even Macke didn't imagine a contest halted due to the mercy rule.

"We didn't expect 8-0, and we're really embarrassed," he said. "That's a good team. They have really skilled players. They pass well, they communicate, they overlap.

"Our boys didn't have it in their heart today."

Doug Fernandes

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