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Wildcats, Tigers Take Trip For Local Matchup

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By BILL WARD, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 14, 2008

TAMPA - They might play in the same county, but the boys soccer teams of Wharton and Jesuit will each travel about 275 miles to face off in Fort Lauderdale's Lockhart Stadium in the Class 5A state semifinals Friday.

With that distance in mind, players and coaches from both schools say that's a very long way to go to lose a game and suddenly end the season. That's why each side is intent on making their stay in South Florida a long, successful weekend. The winner of Friday's match advances to Saturday's championship game.

"What we've been saying all week is that we've come this far, we might as well win it all," said Wharton senior midfielder Matt Montgomery. "It's just too bad we can't play the Jesuit game here in instead of going all that way."

Despite their proximity, Wharton and Jesuit have not played one another all season. The Wildcats (16-5-2) compete in one district and the Tigers (27-2), ranked No. 5 in a national coaches poll, play in another. Still, several players from each side know one another from the local club season. Among them is Jesuit senior defender Greg Sasser and Wharton senior midfielder Danny Layton, who play together on RSL Florida's under-17 squad.

"It's going to be pretty enjoyable because he Layton is a good friend of mine and I'm probably going to be marking him," Sasser said. "I'm sure we'll be talking a little smack to each other, all in fun."

But like Wharton's players, the Tigers are serious about bringing home the state title. For many of the seniors on veteran Jesuit Coach Bob Bauman's squad, Friday's match will be the third consecutive year they have played in the state semifinals. The two previous seasons, they have left empty-handed after being eliminated at that stage.

As a school, Jesuit has won six state crowns, five under Bauman and the last coming in 2001.

"Last season, going out in the state semis was completely unexpected," senior forward Arthur Beil said. "We had a good season but it still felt like we had failed what we had been working for."

The thought of going three straight years without their own state soccer crown is practically unthinkable to these Jesuit seniors.

"That just can't happen," said senior midfielder Josh Menendez. "We've worked too hard for this."

Of course, so have the Wildcats. But the way Coach Scott Ware sees it, there's not much pressure on his squad to bring home a state title. "We might be the underdogs, perhaps, when compared to the three other teams because we don't get a lot of respect," Ware said. "That's fine with me because the confidence the guys have been building from the first district match on, they feel like they can beat anybody."

To beat this particular Jesuit team will be a challenge for any of the finalists. Bauman believes this squad has developed the same key elements that were present in his 2001 squad: solid defense, great goalkeeping, a balanced attack and a willingness to work unselfishly.

"I think this team, having come up short in two semifinals, has had that same commitment," Bauman said. "I think this team has shown that they have played for one another all year and they've sacrificed a lot of things. I want this for them. I want these guys to leave as champions."

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