Newsome Shuts Out Freedom

TAMPA - Last week, Newsome was overconfident, maybe even complacent and expecting to win against Bloomingdale, according to Wolves coach Kelly Townsend. The overconfidence was misguided and so were the expectations as Newsome suffered its first loss of the season and a district defeat.

"Personally I feel we walked into Bloomingdale on cloud nine," Townsend said. "I think we went in expecting to win and you can't do that, especially against Bloomingdale, who is a really good team."

Tuesday night, Newsome had a different mind-set,. The Wolves went into their match against Freedom prepared, knowing they had a chance to grab the No. 1 seed in the Class 5A-District 8 tournament. A confident 3-0 victory gave Newsome its first top seed in a district tournament.

"I think the Bloomingdale loss 1-0 really kicked us into gear," Townsend said. "All of a sudden we knew we had to step it up or step off the field."

The Wolves struck in the fifth minute when Ashley Evers crossed the ball across the front of the goal to a waiting Hannah Rainey, who drove a shot into the back of the net. Rainey's goal came as her and fellow forward Jaime Smith, both suffering from stomach viruses, switched in and out of the game.

Newsome (9-1) had several other chances in the first half, but the Wolves were unable to convert. The Patriots (7-3-1), meanwhile, struggled to have any control and had no shots in the first half.

In fact, the Patriots' first shot on goal didn't come until the 45th minute, a shot that was scooped up easily by Wolves keeper Kendall Graham. Both Newsome goals in the second half came late in the game. The first was by Ana Cate, as the junior drove the ball down and outran defenders kicking the ball to the left of Freedom keeper Sarah Cardozo.

The Wolves' final goal came on a free kick from Rudi Rodriguez from 30 yards out.