TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Combs Comes Up Big For Hudson

ADVERTISEMENT

A Tribune staff report

Published: January 28, 2008

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 boys soccer title Friday night. The Cobras held Pasco senior forward Jose Montelongo scoreless and turned junior striker Scott Combs loose on offense.

Combs had three goals in the win 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.

Hudson will host Orlando Bishop Moore on Thursday while Pasco travels to Harmony.

"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."

Hudson midfielder Alex Banas, one of only two seniors on the team, had one goal and one assist. Banas' goal in the 19th minute of the first half gave Hudson a 2-0 lead, but Pasco bounced back with a goal from senior forward Henry Hollander.

Pasco had a game-tying goal during injury time at the end of the first half taken away because the ball was called out of bounds before the goal. Hudson took advantage as Combs scored his second goal of the game for a 3-1 halftime lead.

"I'm just proud of my guys because they didn't quit all year long," Vescio said. "That's Scotty and that's what he does."
Charles Gonzalez
River Ridge Makes LOL Work For Title

NEW PORT RICHEY - The rowdy bunch that attended Friday's Class 5A-District 7 final at the Jim Valentine Athletic Complex seemed surprised by what it was seeing.

Those who thought Land O' Lakes would romp into the regional playoffs were left biting their nails, while those who rooted for River Ridge were treated to bits of euphoria - until the sudden ending in overtime.

Freshman Justin Lyles' goal two-and-a-half minutes into OT, off a pass from Sebastian Garcia, gave LOL its fourth consecutive district title and a host bid against Freedom in the regional quarterfinals Thursday. But perhaps most importantly, the Gators, with their lofty national No. 5 ranking and status as a state title contender, passed their first playoff test.

"The key here is to keep winning," Pearson said. "The pressure sometimes with the No. 5 label, and where we are in the rankings, and what we're doing, the main thing is to just keep playing the game, and keep getting the wins. It doesn't matter how it comes, you've just got to keep pushing."

Land O' Lakes (25-1-1) was unable to put River Ridge (8-10-3) away in the second half. With every shot blocked by the Royal Knights' defense, and scoring chance after scoring chance cleared away, the Gators seemed to be falling deeper and deeper into that uncomfortable place that teams with high expectations want to avoid.

But Pearson saw it differently. While he was surprised by River Ridge's strategy on defense, dropping six and seven guys back to disrupt the Gators' passing, he didn't expect the district title to come easily.

"Coach wrote on the board that they're not going to give it to us. We're going to have to go earn it," Lyles said. "And he was right."

When the game went into overtime tied 1-1, a shock considering LOL had shut out six consecutive opponents, the Gators were ready.

For a team that has lost in the regional quarterfinals the past two seasons, that test, though early in the playoffs, seems pretty significant for LOL. The national ranking (by the NSCAA, second in Florida only to Class 6A Miami Varela) will make every opponent from here on out even more motivated to knock them out.

By contrast, Friday's game may have given rise to a new contender. River Ridge was seeded third entering the tournament, but played a difficult schedule that included three games against LOL, three games in the Soccer Field Invitational, and matches against playoff-bound Pasco and Hudson. That gives the Knights plenty of experience going into Thursday's regional quarterfinal at Wharton.

"We know we can hang with them, and we showed that," Coach Mike McHugh said. "We can play defense, that's one thing we've done well all year.

"We fought hard, we really did. I feel bad for our seniors, but at the same time, I feel great because they put up a fight and played well."

Bart O'Connell

A Game Of Firsts For Hurricanes, Wildcats

SHADY HILLS - Bishop McLaughlin senior forward James McCarragher normally is involved more in passing than in scoring.

Friday, the scoring came his way and both he and his coach were happy about that.

McCarragher had a hat trick to lead Bishop McLaughlin to a 6-0 victory over Academy of the Lakes in the Class 2A-District 9 finals Friday night at the Bishop McLaughlin field.

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

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

"We wanted to stay calm and play our game," said McCarragher. "We just got the ball wide. Things worked out. Passes were made. I have seven or eight goals this season. We played well tonight. I definitely consider myself more of a playmaker. We were successful when we spread the ball wide."

"It's a breakout game for him," said Bishop McLaughlin coach John Mayer. "He has been having his shot but nothing was going in the net for him. Tonight, they all went in for him. We have been moving the ball well to the outside."

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 the next goal in the game's 21st minute with Gronau assisting.

Gronau made the score 4-0 with his 16th goal of the season. Saavedra and Michael Pirrello assisted.

Ian Renke scored the fifth goal with Vincent Cao assisting and the game 38 minutes old.

McCarragher scored the team's final goal with an assist from James Christianson in the 48th minute.

Mayer is enjoying his team's most successful run in the playoffs.

"Two years ago, we got knocked out in the semis and last year, we made it to the finals against Tampa Prep," said Mayer. "The districts got realigned. We feel good about that winning their first district. We'll take this one. The other team Academy of the Lakes is a starting program. They worked real hard and they have done a great job. We have been playing our best soccer. Our passing and communication were the best parts. We like to attack the wings and spread them out."

Academy of the Lakes coach Don Bellefeuille said his team was missing a key part.

"We were missing one of our better players," Bellefeuille said. "Nikil Ferris is my midfielder and we had nothing to control the midfield today. This is our first time in the district."

Larry Bugg

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT