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Gators Peaking At Perfect Time

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By CHRIS ERRINGTON, Tribune correspondent

Published: January 14, 2008

Land O' Lakes girls soccer coach Vicky King may have played her team's cards perfectly.

After an awful 3-7-2 start, the young Gators are playing their best soccer of the season - just in time for this week's Class 5A-District 7 tournament at River Ridge.

"We did struggle and knew we were struggling at the beginning of the season," King said, "but we said our goal was to be playing our best soccer at the end of the year and that's where we're at.

"We were young and with time, everything has been coming together. We're coming together as a team."

Local teams begin district tournament play this week, with both the champion and runner-up earning berths in the regional tournament. The district champion is rewarded with a first-round regional home game against another district's runner-up.

A season ago, Land O' Lakes fell in the district final to River Ridge and then suffered a first-round regional playoff road loss. Although an eight-game winning streak, which included a championship at the Bobcat Invitational, was stopped with a 2-0 loss to Lecanto Thursday, the No. 2-seeded Gators (11-8-2) have impressed the opposition.

"We know there are some very good teams in our district, so we're not taking anything for granted," said Skip Glover, coach of top-seeded River Ridge. "Land O' Lakes is one of those teams. They've been playing very well and always have the potential to earn an upset victory. Just because we already beat them this year, doesn't mean we'll beat them again."

River Ridge (15-1-2), which plays the winner of the Wesley Chapel-Ridgewood match, won both meetings against Land O' Lakes this season by a combined 7-0. However, they came during the Gators' difficult start and the second game actually marked the beginning of their long winning streak.

For River Ridge, winning a third consecutive district title would be a great accomplishment, but the Royal Knights know bigger goals are ahead. A year after finishing the regular season undefeated, River Ridge was upset in the first round of the regional playoffs - a loss Glover has pointed to for inspiration all season.

"We're the No. 1 seed, so it would be a disappointment if we didn't win it," Glover said. "Homefield advantage doesn't mean much to us. We'd like to win the district, but getting to regions is our top goal, as is advancing from there."

For Bishop McLaughlin, history could be made this week. The Hurricanes have not reached the regional playoffs during their three years as a program, but that could change this year.

Bishop McLaughlin (9-2-1) finished second to perennial power Tampa Prep, so the prospects for winning the Class 2A-District 9 title appear slim. However, Coach Mike Zelenka knows a victory over third-place Cambridge on Tuesday will guarantee at least a second-place district finish and an automatic berth in the regionals.

"It's been our focus for a while," Zelenka said. "Every game we've played, we've tried to focus on what it's going to take to get to regionals. Now it's right in front of us."

Chris Errington can be reached at cerrington@pop.tampatrib.com.

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