Terrapins have become believers

Belief was something it took Tampa Prep's players a little bit of time to grasp this season. Belief in themselves, belief in their abilities and belief in the team goal was something first-year coach Cindy Schofield said she knew was there. She was just waiting for those beliefs to shine through.

"They just needed to believe in themselves, and for me, I just wanted them to be rewarded for that belief," Schofield said. "There has been a question all season."

Schofield said the Terrapins started believing just in time to make their third Class 2A final four appearance in as many years. Tampa Prep's coach pointed to the Terrapins' 3-1 region semifinal win against Bradenton St. Stephen's as the team's breakthrough game.

"We had more losses than any other season, but we also played a tougher schedule than ever before," Schofield said. "The win over St. Stephen's was where we turned the corner, because up until then we hadn't had that big win."

The Terrapins, the 2008 Class 2A state champions, will look to get another big win in Thursday's semifinal match against Tallahassee Maclay at Pepin Stadium at 12:45 p.m.

The Terrapins' offense is led by sophomore Colby Maffei, Hillsborough County's leading scorer with 44 goals and 10 assists this season. Caroline Cheek is the county's assist leader with 25.

The offense also has gotten a recent boost with the return of midfielder Jackie Rosenthal, who has recovered from a leg injury suffered early in the season. This high-powered attack gets a lot of attention, but the Terrapins also return a defense that has been playing together for three seasons and has state playoff experience. The return of Rosenthal allowed junior Amber Miller to return to defense, where she joins juniors Lauren Knoke, Isabel Dalence and Mackenzie Logan.

"As a coach, I tend to focus more on the attack," said Schofield, jokingly. A former player at Lakeland Jenkins, Schofield holds the state's single-season and career goals records and is the most prolific scorer in the history of Florida State University. "But our defense is solid, and there aren't many forwards in this state who are going to get around Amber and Lauren, and with Mackenzie winning balls in the air it allows Isabel to float."

The defense is also aided by one of the county's top keepers in senior Jordan Hatton.