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Royal Knights' Rossi Sets Scoring Record

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By CHRIS ERRINGTON Tribune correspondent

Published: January 15, 2008

For weeks, the anticipation and buildup have been almost palpable. It finally happened Thursday.

Senior Deana Rossi eclipsed the River Ridge all-time scoring mark with a pair of goals during a 3-0 victory against visiting Pasco. The goals gave Rossi 110 for her career, breaking the Royal Knights' record of 108 set by Lindsey Jones. Surprisingly, the record breaker was one of the senior's easiest of the season.

Rossi was taken down in the Pasco box during the first half, resulting in a penalty kick that she cleanly put away. A 25-yard direct kick in the second half finished off the Pirates and cemented her place in River Ridge's record book.

"We announced the record-breaking goal during the game, just like we did something for her 100{+t}{+h} goal," River Ridge coach Skip Glover said. "But, I wanted to wait until we found out how many goals she got for her career before we had any presentation, because I'm running out of game balls."

River Ridge (15-1-2) is the top seed and host for this week's Class 5A-District 7 tournament. The Royal Knights take on the winner of the Wesley Chapel-Ridgewood first-round match Wednesday with eyes on a third-straight district title.

FINDING A REPLACEMENT: You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone willing to say Mike Zelenka hasn't done a great job coaching Bishop McLaughlin this season - especially under the conditions under which he was forced to assume the role.

Still, it won't keep the coach/athletic director from finding a coaching replacement for next season.

"I just don't think it's fair for the other sports if so much of my time is devoted to the girls soccer team," Zelenka said. "I need to be able to spend my time equally among all the sports."
Zelenka took over when first-year coach Derek Plank had to resign due to illness just prior to the start of the season. Having coached the team last season, Zelenka resumed his duties in order to "keep some continuity within the team."

The results have been outstanding. The Hurricanes (9-2-1) finished second only to Tampa Prep in Class 2A-District 9 during the regular season and need only a victory against third-seeded Cambridge tonight to assure themselves of their first trip to the regional playoffs.

No matter how far Bishop McLaughlin goes during the postseason, however, Zelenka won't be the coach next season. In fact, a time-table already has been set to find his replacement.

"It would start when we look for new teachers," Zelenka said. "It's a goal to get as many coaches on staff at that time as possible and we want to get some teaching candidates who also want to coach in April or May.

"It doesn't matter if it's a man or woman, but it's always helpful from an experience standpoint that the girls will relate to a woman coach better than they do a male coach."

QUICK KICKS: With the regular season now complete, several Pasco County players earned recognition among the state's best, according to MaxPreps.com:

• Zephyrhills' junior Desiree Nieves was fifth in the state in assists with 20.

• Rossi fired the fourth most shots on goal this season with 102.

• Wiregrass Ranch sophomore Kelsey Brown easily led the state with a staggering 480 saves, 222 more than her nearest competitor, while senior Liset Morales of Wesley Chapel was fourth with 195 saves.

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