Boys soccer: Tampa Prep seeking more improvement

Tampa Prep has made a perfect start to the season, entering tonight's district game against Carrollwood Day 6-0-0, but the Terrapins are still looking to improve.

"We have to work on late in-game tactics, and defending," midfielder Anthony Baumann said. "We've given up a lot of goals late, but if we work on that and just keep on working in practice, everything will come together."

Playing non-district games against sides like Jesuit, East Lake and Gaither, which the Terrapins have been provisionally slated to face along with Orlando Bishop Moore in the High School Invitational tournament hosted by Jesuit, is important for Coach Doug Smith. The Terrapins have swept past their district opposition to this point, and Smith is looking for tests from larger classification schools to prepare them for the playoffs.

"I think playing those games, that's incredibly important," Smith said. "A lot of these guys play club ball, and we need to do our best to schedule those games so that they can continue to play opposition that is, frankly, at a very high level."

Warriors on hot scoring streak

Steinbrenner's girls started the season with a 1-1 tie against Gaither, but have since been on a scoring tear. Fifteen players have notched at least one goal through Steinbrenner's first seven matches, all of which have been shutouts. Leading the scoring for the Warriors is sophomore Taylor Valley with nine goals, sophomore Cici Gonzalez with eight goals and 11 assists, and freshman Alexis Bredeau with eight goals and eight assists.

Crusaders finding feet after big loss

One of the most surprising scores of the season so far came Nov. 19, when Berkeley Prep routed district rival Tampa Catholic 8-1. The Crusaders have managed to rebound well from that defeat, recording victories against St. Petersburg Catholic and Clearwater Central Catholic to give themselves the No. 2 seed in the Class 3A-District 9 tournament.

The Crusaders had been missing sweeper Kevin Carter to injury before the game against the Buccaneers, but Coach Kevin McCarron thinks the rest of the side has now adjusted to his absence, and will be stronger when he returns as a result.

"They're starting to get their legs back underneath them," McCarron said. "By the time we get into the district tournament, we should have played 21, 22 soccer games, so we'll certainly be more prepared for them the next time we meet."

Carter has expressed a desire to return for his Hillsborough County United club team, which McCarron is an assistant coach with, as soon as the Disney Soccer Showcase that begins Dec. 26, but McCarron said his principle goal is making sure Carter is prepared for the district playoffs.

Plant's Smith could face suspension

Plant senior midfielder Andrea Smith was issued a straight red card during the Panthers' 3-1 win against Bloomingdale on Tuesday night. Panthers coach Stephen McGill said he did not yet know if the FHSAA would suspend Smith or if she would be available for Plant's match against Newsome on Dec. 17.

Smith was called on the penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct just after the second half water break. Under the FHSAA rules, the minimum penalty is having a player miss five days and two matches, meaning Smith could miss the Panthers' matches against Wharton and Brandon or could result in a suspension of up to six weeks.

Teams may need a tiebreaker

Newsome and East Bay's 2-2 tie Tuesday marked the first match between the two teams as district opponents and didn't settle anything. The one thing it did set up is a possible rematch in the district tournament if both teams remain on hot streaks. Both teams are currently undefeated in 5A-8 with the Wolves still needing to play Armwood and Tampa Bay Tech in the district and the Indians still yet to play Plant City and Riverview.

The question now: If both teams end district play undefeated, which would enter the tournament as the top seed?

The FHSAA rules state that if two teams are tied in record and have tied in the regular season, the next tiebreaker is district points accumulated against the next highest seeded team. So it looks like the fate of the two teams comes down to which team out of Durant, Riverview and Plant City is higher rated.

Nicholas Murray,

Jarrett Guthrie