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Boys District Tourneys Begin

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By MATTHEW POSTINS, Tribune correspondent

Published: January 21, 2008

TAMPA - Winning a district soccer tournament and advancing to the state playoffs depends on many factors. One of the biggest? Health.

As the area's boys district tournaments unfold this week, many coaches believe the teams that stand the best chance to reach the finals - and in turn claim a state playoff berth - are the ones that aren't suffering from major injuries.

"At this point you need everybody," Tampa Prep coach Jose DaCosta said, whose Terrapins are the No. 1 seed in the Class 2A-10 tournament, which starts Tuesday at Indian Rocks Christian. "You run thin. They have a lot of games on their legs with club soccer. It's a fine line we walk."
DaCosta said six of his starters were hurt after the Terps finished off a brutal holiday stretch in which most of them played in a holiday club tournament and the Soccer Field Invitational in early January.

Tampa Prep is only now starting to get healthy, as leading scorer Wes Sever returned from a two-game absence to score three goals Friday.

But in the same match, defender Evan Harmony came away with a concussion.
Freedom coach Dennis Derflinger experienced similar woes during the Soccer Field event. He played most of those matches with 12 or 13 players, thanks to injuries suffered during club tournaments.

The Patriots, who will be the No. 2 seed in the 5A-8 tourney when it begins Tuesday, won two shootouts en route to a seventh-place finish in the Premier Bracket.

That included a rally from two goals down against Gulf Breeze in the seventh-place game, which ended with Freedom winning a shootout 3-0.

"The team showed a lot of character while being physically and mentally drained from the previous matches and facing a team who was subbing three players every 10 minutes," Derflinger said.

The Patriots received a bump from that performance, and not just as players returned from injury. They surged to end the season, beating Gaither, Durant (after falling behind 3-0 at halftime) and Alonso and go into their tournament as a team on the rise.

Alonso, the No. 1 seed in 6A-7, had its own injury problems against Freedom on Tuesday. Its top two scorers, Julio Perez and Simon Gomez, were out with injuries. They've combined for 43 goals this season for the Ravens.

The Ravens found a way to come back from two goals down against Freedom before losing 3-2.

Perez and Gomez will get a couple of more days to rest. The Ravens don't play until Wednesday.

Injuries are unavoidable in soccer. During Tampa Prep's 3-0 win against Fort Myers Evangelical Christian on Friday, several players went down after tackles and collisions. Most of them got up, but they certainly felt the impact of those collisions and tackles the next morning.

Bumps and bruises are fine at this time of year. It's the big injuries every coach wants to avoid.

"There are some big guys out there and they run pretty fast at each other," DaCosta said.

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