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Tigers Look To Regain Edge

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By NICHOLAS J.E. MURRAY

nmurray@tampatrib.com

Published: January 3, 2009

Updated: 01/02/2009 09:24 pm

TAMPA - When his team reconvened after the holiday break Friday, Jesuit soccer coach Bob Bauman had some reading for his players.

"He actually gave us a paper to read," forward Keith Sierra said. "It was about American players being great skilled players, but not wanting to compete. They can show and do all of this stuff, but they don't have the hard work-ethic and the mentality to compete for what they want."

Bauman's message was clear. The Tigers (15-1-1) lost their first game of the season at the High School Invitational Tournament, losing 3-1 to Wharton in the Elite Division semifinals. Bauman said he thought the Tigers' effort in that game was lacking, and proved to be the key difference between the two teams.

"I think that we have some players that put forth and effort to do well, and we have some players who think their effort is sufficient," Bauman said. "What we need are players that are in it for the team. That's not to say they're being selfish, I just think they need to step back and reflect on what our shortcomings are, and that's really what we're talking about, what else do we need to do in order to have what we would consider to be a successful season."

Today at 3 p.m., the Tigers take the first step of the second half of the season as they host Berkeley Prep (14-0-1), a team that won the Premier Division at the Invitational. Sierra, who was recently named a National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-American, said the game offered the Tigers a great opportunity.

"It means a great deal," Sierra said. "They're undefeated, and we just lost to Wharton. This is a game that'll prove a lot of stuff, that we can bounce back quicker and better, and that we're still the powerhouse people think we are."

Bauman is cautious, however, saying that with their recent performances, the Buccaneers are currently the best team in Hillsborough County.

"I think Berkeley's a very difficult opponent for us," Bauman said. "They won their bracket in the tournament, I saw them play and they're very good from front to back in what they do. We have to regroup after losing to Wharton in the semifinals, and being a bit banged up after Sun Bowl and Disney to find ourselves. Hopefully this game can help catapult the rest of our season for us."

Berkeley too returned to practice Friday with players having represented their clubs during the last week. Buccaneers coach Tim Cooper said he wasn't going to make the game against Jesuit the be-all and end-all of the Bucs' season, but he understood that it would mean a lot if they were able to reverse the recent trend of results that have seen the Tigers come out on top.

"The three years I've been coaching at Berkeley, we haven't had much success against them," Cooper said. "It would be nice to get a win today to keep the season on a roll."

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