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Lyles' Overtime Goal Gives Gators Another District Title

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A Tribune staff report

Published: January 26, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - Somewhere behind all the superstars in the Land O' Lakes midfield, freshman forward Justin Lyles did in overtime of Friday's Class 5A-District 7 boys soccer final what he's done all year - sneak into the perfect position to make an impact.

Lyles sprinted up the right sideline and positioned himself on the far post for a cross from Sebastian Garcia. It was one of the few not deflected by the River Ridge defense. Lyles blasted it in for the golden goal and a 2-1 win, giving the Gators (25-1-1) a fourth consecutive district title.

"Coach Mark Pearson kept telling our team to get down the wings, that's where the goal was going to come from," Lyles said. "I got a great pass in and I was just there for the cleanup. It's pretty big. It's a great team win."

For River Ridge (8-10-3), the loss was difficult to take considering the extraordinary effort it showed to force the No. 9-ranked team in the country into overtime.

Down 1-0 after a 12th-minute goal by Felix Soto off a corner kick from Matt Tanner, the Knights tied the game with five minutes remaining in the first half. A free kick from Vinny Panetta got over the wave of Land O' Lakes defenders who thought the play would be whistled for offside.

Seth Wade took advantage of the momentary lapse to roll a soft shot past Gators keeper Alex Spock. It was the first goal scored on Land O' Lakes since Jan. 5, a span of seven games.

From there, River Ridge played a defensive-oriented lineup that consisted of usually six or seven players clogging up the 18-yard box. Senior goalkeeper Eric Karcinski, playing perhaps his final home game, made seven saves, six in the second half.

Land O' Lakes will host Freedom on Thursday, while River Ridge travels to Wharton.

Bart O'Connell

Hudson Shuts Down Montelongo, Pasco

WESLEY CHAPEL - Hudson used a stout defense and a high-energy offensive attack to stun the No. 1-seeded Pasco Pirates with a 5-2 victory to claim the Class 4A-District 8 title at Wiregrass Ranch. The Cobras held Pasco senior forward Jose Montelongo scoreless and turned junior striker Scott Combs loose on offense.

Combs scored three goals and was the spark that kept Hudson rolling to the district title. The Cobras held a four-goal lead midway through the second half and used their defense to create scoring opportunities.

"They have been playing that way all year long," Hudson coach Paul Vescio said. "I think we've given up only 27 goals all year long and 10 of them were to Pasco."

Hudson wasted little time grabbing the lead as Combs scored in the 11th minute of the contest. He picked up a loose ball deep in the Pasco zone and dribbled past Pirates goalkeeper Jacob Pollack, who was way out of the goalkeeper box, and tapped the ball in for the goal.

Montelongo showed up late for the district final and didn't start the game even though Pasco coach Barry Grayling knew he wasn't going to be on time. Grayling, however, didn't use that as an excuse for his team's defeat.

"We didn't come out to play," Grayling said. "They came out to play and we didn't, end of story."

Charles Gonzalez

Seminole Captures Another District Title

ST. PETERSBURG - Top-seeded Seminole captured its 13th district championship with a 2-0 shutout of Northeast.

A scoreless opening half saw the Warhawks maintain possession and keep pressure on Vikings keeper Ian Ronshausen. Ronshausen saved eight first-half shots in a sturdy performance.

"I thought we left some money on the table in the first half. We had a lot of chances we didn't finish. Northeast is a team that is dangerous and if they get an opportunity to put it in they will. I thought we kept our shape defensively," Seminole coach Rick Masi said.

A defensive mistake by the Vikings helped break the draw midway through the second half. The Warhawks' Matt Hochsprung sent in a shot from the left side about 10 yards from the goal. The ball skipped across the face of the goal and ricocheted off a Vikings defender, who got tangled up with Ronshausen as both tried to play the ball out of the penalty box.

Mitchell Dawson provided some breathing room for Seminole in the final 10 minutes. Sebastian Thuriere accepted a long corner kick, then found the charging Dawson from 6 yards out. Dawson, who sat out last season with a ligament tear, put a soft touch to the back of the net.

"We get to host. Which is a big deal because I don't want to go over the Sunshine Skyway bridge, especially in a school bus," Masi said jokingly.

Matthew Parke

McCarragher's Hat Trick Gives Canes 1st Title

SHADY HILLS - James McCarragher had a hat trick to lead Bishop McLaughlin to a 6-0 victory against Academy at the Lakes in the Class 2A-District 9 final at Bishop McLaughlin.

It was the first-ever boys soccer district title for the Hurricanes (7-6-6) and they will host Calvary Christian on Thursday at 7 p.m.

Academy at the Lakes (4-14-1) was playing in its first district tournament and will travel to defending 2A state champion Tampa Prep.

The Hurricanes took a 5-0 lead in the first half as they outshot their opponents 23-1 in the first 40 minutes.

It took Bishop McLaughlin less than a minute to score the first goal. McCarragher assisted as Andres Saavedra scored. Seven minutes later, McCarragher scored with Matt Gronau assisting. McCarragher scored his second goal in the game's 21st minute with Gronau assisting. Gronau made the score 4-0 with his 16th goal of the season with Saavedra and Michael Pirrello assisting.

Following an Ian Renke goal in the 38th minute, McCarragher completed the scoring with his hat trick in the 48th minute.

Larry Bugg

Shorecrest's 3 2nd-Half Goals Down Northside

ST. PETERSBURG - Shorecrest's Stephen Spanos scored two goals and the Chargers' defense kept Northside Christian from recording a shot on goal in a 3-0 Class 1A-District 11 final win.

Northside goalkeeper Michael Lyle kept the first half scoreless by making nine saves but couldn't keep Shorecrest off the board in the second half.

Spanos scored the first and last goals with assists from Jordan Silver and Quinn Ebright, and Alistair Flynn got the middle score.

"We came in trying to not underestimate Northside. We played the ball around to make them work," said Flynn.

Shorecrest will host Fort Myers Evangelical Christian in the regional quarterfinals Thursday while Northside Christian travels to Bradenton St. Stephen's.

Greg Jennsen

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