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Terrapins, Mustangs Struggle To Tie

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By JARRETT GUTHRIE, Tribune correspondent

Published: January 6, 2008

TRINITY - After two weeks without team practices because of the holiday break, Mitchell and Tampa Prep appeared to struggle to find cohesiveness early in Friday's girls soccer match.

Neither team completely found its rhythm in the 1-1 tie, as Tampa Prep controlled the early portion of the game, while the Mustangs appeared to rally at the end.

In the first half of the game played on a windy afternoon, there were plenty of bad first touches and sloppy passes, equating to a lack of real chances around either net. In terms of ball control, however, the Terrapins maintained possession and created more opportunities.

Tampa Prep carried its momentum into the second half as the Terrapins scored in the 41st minute. Senior striker Chelsea Klotz won a battle for the ball in front of Mitchell's goal and shot into the back of the net.

Mitchell responded after falling behind, though, as its defense was able to contain a potent Tampa Prep attack that had scored 83 goals in its previous 17 games.

"I think our defense has played tremendous all season," Mustangs coach Karl Kucek said.

"Everyone talks about the forwards - the goal scorers - but our defense is extremely tough."

Offensively, the Mustangs finally seemed to get its game together in the final third of the match. It paid off in the 67th minute when Marisa Russo flicked on a pass to Morgan Shellenberger, who placed the ball in the left corner of the goal.

Both teams had late potential game-winners, with the first coming on a scramble for the ball in front of Tampa Prep's net that Terrapins goalkeeper Courtney Zwetsch was able to snuff out.

The Terrapins' chance came inside the final two minutes on a free kick by Carrie Field to Paige Goodwin, whose shot was stopped by Mustangs keeper Laura Seletos despite losing her footing.

Seletos had six saves in the match, giving her 101 this season to go with a goals-against average of 0.72.

"We have only lost three games this season and each by only one goal," Kucek said. "My defense never gives up more than that, it seems, so if we put up more goals we won't have anything to worry about."

Correspondent Jarrett Guthrie can be reached at jguthrie@

pop.tampatrib.com.

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