Girls soccer: Karl's four goals lift River Ridge

NEW PORT RICHEY - Jenny Karl can't be stopped.

The senior leads Pasco County with 28 goals, including the four during River Ridge's 6-4 win over district foe Wiregrass Ranch on Wednesday evening.

"She," said River Ridge coach Skip Glover, who has led the Royal Knights (11-2) to five straight district championships, "is taking over where other great players have left off. This year, she's taken on the leadership role, really embraced it and that's what I'm seeing every game."

Karl scored a hat trick just 17 minutes into the game, the third time this season in which she's had a four goals. She was looking to avenge Nov. 12's 5-4 loss to the Bulls (10-2-2), her last four-goal outing.

"The first game we weren't really focused, but once we got into it, then I scored the four goals," said Karl, who has 45 in the past season and half, "but we came out 3-0 and they came back, like we did last game, but scoring our sixth goal was really - whew."

Down 3-0, Wiregrass was on its heels, yelling and pointing fingers at teammates. It took a stern warning from first-year coach Erin Dodd to wake the team up.

"We woke up a little too late," Dodd said. "We recovered from (the 3-0 deficit) as much as we could, but it wasn't enough. Everyone was getting mentally frustrated after getting into a postion where we haven't been down like this, so no one really knew how to handle it.

"We bounced back with four goals, but it just wasn't enough."

The Bulls, who blazed out to a undefeated start, now have back-to-back losses for their first rough patch of the season. They are led by sophomore sensation A.J. Blount, who is second in the county with 22 goals, including two against River Ridge Wednesday. Blount scored first while following off a Berlin Waters shot, then saw Jordanyne' Fye pick up another rebound to cut the lead to 3-2 late in the first half.

River Ridge then extended the lead to 5-2 with two goals just two minutes apart from forward Jessica Tata. However, Wiregrass pulled within a goal again on a goals in the 51st minute from Waters and the 76th from Blount.

"I used to be a defender," Glover said, "so (even though we won) it could be better, like not giving up four goals. Those are what will bug me."

Karl put away her fourth goal as insurance with less than two minutes left in the game. However, Blount sustained a minor calf injury as time expired. Blount needed help leaving the field, but Dodd feels she won't miss any playing time.

That'll be crucial, as each team now has a new nemesis.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we run into each other again - the rest of the season has to be played, but anything can happen and we expect to see them again," Glover said. "I think we both have strengths that are evenly matched, so these games are always intense."

"I can only expect they'll be in it till the end, where we hope to see them again," Dodd added.

As for Karl, she'll continue to do what she does best - score goals.

"I'm doing my job out here just trying to lead the girls," Karl said. "I think we relaxed too much because of those goals. We kept going, 'We got this. We got this,' then starting looking ahead. We just lost it, so I had to talk to them in the locker room, and it worked.

"I'm just trying to be the best player out there for the team and the right player for the younger players to look up to. If I'm the goal scorer, that's fine, but whatever I can do for the team is what I'll do."