TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Hudson Lady Cobras: Playing beyond their years

ADVERTISEMENT

BY ERIC HORCHY

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 7, 2008

SUNCOAST NEWS STAFF

HUDSON - - The Hudson Lady Cobras U19 soccer team did not come home from last weekend's Florida Youth Soccer Association State Cup final four in Fort Myers with first-place hardware, but that certainly does not diminish all that they had accomplished.

Despite the 6-3 semifinal loss to Hillsborough County United, the Lady Cobras became the first Hudson Youth Soccer Association team at any level, boys or girls, to advance to the State Cup.

Following the final four, the girls also cracked the state Top 10 rankings (No. 6) for the first time as well. HC United was ranked No. 1 at the time and No. 20 nationally.

Even more striking, the Lady Cobras accomplished these feats while being consistently one of the youngest teams competing at the U19 level, where girls with a year of college experience under their belts are commonplace.

This year's Hudson roster consisted of five sophomores, five juniors, three seniors and one college freshman - former Hudson High standout Ashley Schuering who attends PHCC.

Lady Cobras' head coach Chris Swezey reiterated the impressive nature of the girl's run and how they competed in their State Cup game against Danielle Fotopoulos-coached HC United. Fotopoulos is the all-time leading goal scorer in NCAA history and was part of the historic 1999 USA Women's World Cup Championship team.

"We had them concerned, I'll tell you that much," Swezey said. "We came back from two down with less that 20 minutes to go, but basically the older, more experienced team won. They had seven or eight current collegiate players going against mostly sophomores and juniors in high school."

To really break through the inherent nerves that can come with playing against older, bigger, stronger competition, Swezey said the girls' performance in this past February's Score at the Shore showcase in Tampa played a key role.

"We played state-ranked teams from all over the United States and came away with a 1-1-2 record, which is in itself not fantastic, but the girls finally realized what I'd been telling them the last six to eight months," he said. "That they can play with anybody."

Along with the Lady Cobra's youthfulness, there's another feature of their lineup that separates them from the typical mold of competitive club soccer teams. Many club teams - especially more prestigious leagues like HC United - have a grab-bag roster of the best talent from around the area.

Most of the Lady Cobra girls have grown up together and play at Hudson High.

That basically puts them together on the soccer field for 12 straight months out of the year, Swezey said.

"What happens a lot can be trying to get girls back on the same page after they've played against each other during school," he said. "We never have an issue with that and I think that's huge when they get done. Plus it's also going to help their school season again."

The core of this Lady Cobra group has been together since Swezey had them in U13 soccer. Back then they helped accomplish another feat last school year by winning districts for the first time in Hudson High history.

Ultimately, Swezey is hoping the successes being had by this exceptional group of young ladies will also carry over full circle to the rest of the Hudson Youth Soccer Association.

"I'm hoping it takes the club on a turn for the better," he said. "Because we definitely have some really talented players, but we don't have the depth or huge pool of players to choose from yet."

Since the final four qualification, signs of progression have already began to peek up, Swezey said, receiving calls from interested players that attend other area high schools, something that usually never happened before.

Tryouts for next season

Tryouts for this fall's squad will be held June 9 and 10 at 6-8 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Park. For more information on the teams and tryouts, call coach Chris Swezey at 727-919-0172. Players and parents can also visit the Hudson Youth Soccer Association club Web site, www.hudsonyouthsoccer.com>.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT