Raiders boys soccer team starts fast

The fast start to the season for the Plant City High boys soccer team does not surprise its new head coach.

Having the Raiders ready to go, right away, is a big part of Stephen Rossiter's approach.

"Before the game starts, you should have your heartbeats-per-minute up to 170," Rossiter said. "That way the game starts, you're ready to go. And we've been getting off to strong starts every game."

Rossiter's plan has worked, as with one exception in the first six games of the season, Plant City has grabbed a goal in the first 10 minutes of the game. And the Raiders haven't stopped scoring for the most part, off to an unbeaten first three weeks of the year.

On Dec. 1, the Raiders had seven goals in the first half, beating Armwood 8-0 to improve their record to 5-0-1.

Before games, Rossiter leads his team through sprint drills with the elevated heartbeat as the desired result.

"These are full-fledged sprints," he said. "They start off as 15-yarders, and eventually you go halfway up the field, then back. That usually gets the heart rate up."

And the Raiders don't mind at all.

One of the biggest proponents of the routine doubles as one of the most well-received surprises for Raider athletics in recent memory. He is Dragan Jovanski, a foreign exchange student from Macedonia.

"He is just excellent, a brilliant athlete," Rossiter said. "He's been taught at a professional level. You just don't see anyone with these type of leadership skills. You hear a coach talk and after a while it's, 'that's just coach,' but if a player comes up and says the same thing (like Jovanski does), it makes an impact."

Although Jovanski doesn't possess the strongest English speaking skills, he does have a full understanding of soccer and Rossiter's pregame ritual. During one Rossiter pregame speech, when the conditioning aspect came up, Jovanski - nicknamed Dragon by his teammates - went up to the chalkboard.

"He knew all of the percentages, and this is why we get off to strong starts, everything. He's very, very well trained," Rossiter said.

And that just covers Jovanski's fitness level. He has a devastating shot from long distance as well.

Jovanski is far from being the only talented Raider. Edgar Montelongo, a speedy senior forward, had compiled 12 goals through six games, including consecutive hat tricks against Freedom and Newsome.

The Freedom game, a 5-1 road win Nov. 12, was a bit of a statement from the Raiders since Freedom made last year's state semifinals. Montelongo was assisted twice by outstanding forward Jorge Martinez as Plant City stunned the Patriots with a pair of first-half goals.

And the Newsome result was the only blemish in Plant City's early record, a 3-3 tie, but that very nearly went for a victory as well.

"The ref granted eight minutes of injury time, and they scored with only 15 seconds left. It was pretty interesting," Rossiter said.

Plant City plays strong possession soccer, and Rossiter says he's never had a time like this, where there are no weak spots among the 11 players on the field.

Chris Sullivan has been excellent in net and has a solid defense in front of him. Alan Black has provided quality offense and had a hat trick himself against Strawberry Crest.

Plant City has established itself as one of the favorites to win District 5A-8. Big rival Durant will only play Plant City once with the new district alignment.

That game is set for the finale of the regular season, Jan. 8.