A pair of goals by Joey Ltief and a pair of shutouts by Brandon Stout led Sickles into the quarterfinals of the High School Soccer Classic at the Ed Radice Sports Complex on Monday night, leaving the Gryphons as the only Hillsborough County team remaining in the tournament.
Ltief's pair of goals came in the first 15 minutes of the Gryphons' 2-0 victory against Jacksonville Bolles. With the side having to play two games with only a three-hour break between, Gryphons coach Tony Calvo said getting out to an early lead against the Bulldogs was imperative.
"That was our biggest thing," Calvo said. "We wanted to get the goals in quick on Bolles because we knew that we had seen Bolles play against Niceville on Saturday, and we figured if we could get the first goals in and put the pressure on them, we'd be fine."
Stout was excellent against Bolles, making a pair of outstanding saves late in the second half to preserve the win, and he also recorded a shutout in the Gryphons' 0-0 draw with Niceville, which was enough to see them through despite the Eagles winning the ensuing shootout 4-2.
"He's is a very big asset on the team," Ltief said. "Obviously no one player can win it all, but having Brandon in goal is obviously a plus, keeping us in the game."
Countryside, Palm Harbor and Land O' Lakes also advanced to the quarterfinals, but Tampa Prep was eliminated after a 2-1 loss to Orlando Bishop Moore. The Terrapins could have advanced with a win after earlier defeating Gaither in a shootout after a 2-2 tie, but both the Terps and Cowboys, along with Mitchell, Berkeley Prep and Jesuit, missed out on advancing.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement
Advertisement