TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Durant, Sickles Reach Wharton Title Match

ADVERTISEMENT

By JARRETT GUTHRIE

Tribune correspondent

Published: January 8, 2009

TAMPA - Wednesday's Wharton Invitational Tournament semifinal match between Durant and East Bay was, in a word, sloppy. Both in play and conditions as both teams struggled to string together passes on a waterlogged and mushy field.

Durant ended up with a 1-0 win on a 78th-minute open goal shot by Cecil Clark as the Cougars held possession for most of the match.

A combination of rain early in the day and overwatering during the holiday break was clearly evident in the play for the Cougars and Indians. Players slipped and slid around the field, as neither team got much going in the way of multiple passes on setups.

Durant fired away at goal all night, outshooting East Bay 22-4.

"I knew we were creating a lot of chances," Durant coach Jamin Hollingsworth said. "This team - my guys, whatever you throw at them, whether it be tournaments and playing with just 13 guys, our team responds with no excuses."

However, the Indians did see solid play from junior keeper Derrick Miranda, who had 14 saves in the match.

"East Bay is a tough team," Hollingsworth said. "East Bay got a great performance out of their keeper Miranda."

Durant's shooting mainly came from Clarke and Billy Fanning, as both had some strong opportunities but failed to find the net until Clarke's late goal.

The decider came on a patient play from Clarke, who waited for a skied ball to fall at his feet and for Miranda to make an aggressive mistake coming out on the ball. Clarke then outplayed a marking defender and sent a skipper to the back of the net. The goal was Clarke's 14th of the season.

In the second semifinal match, Sickles struck early with a would-be winning goal from forward Chris Kidd in the sixth minute, and added two more goals from Sebastian Matta for a 3-0 win against Newsome.

Kidd's goal in the sixth minute came on a rocket fired off the hands of Newsome goalkeeper Jamie Shepard that rolled back and over his head and across the line before Shepard could get a handle on it. Matta, a senior, added a second goal in the first half with a left-foot shot put into the back right corner of the net. Matta scored the Gryphons' final goal after a nice bass from Boris Simeunovic.

The tournament final match between Sickles and Durant will be Saturday at 8:15 p.m. at Wharton.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT