Girls soccer: River Ridge blanks LOL

LAND O'LAKES - As far as rivalries go, this one is all too familiar for these two teams.

As last season's 4A-8 district runner-up Land O'Lakes hosted five-time reigning district champs River Ridge Wednesday night, it was hard to overlook the history between the district rivals.

Five of the last seven seasons, Land O'Lakes has been runner-up to River River for the district championship. The other two seasons, Mitchell took the district, while the last time the Gators were district champions was their 2A state title run in 2003.

After the Royal Knights' 3-0 victory in the first of the teams' two meetings this season, both teams know the rivalry will just keep getting stronger.

"It was well-played, and we play them again, as you play a district team twice," said Vicky King, the Gators' only coach since the sport's inception in Pasco County in 1986. "I thought we played well, and we've had been scoring (more compared to last season's 31 goals), we just didn't have any go our way.

"We're happy with the effort, but not the outcome."

The game was scoreless until the 54th minute, when River Ridge's Jessica Tata put away her fifth goal of the season with the Gators (3-2-1) missing a defender who wasn't awarded injury time. Tiffany Hulse assisted on the goal.

Less than a minute later, River Ridge (5-2) scored again, this time Jenny Karl's team-high ninth goal, assisted by Sarah Olin. Olin also put away her fourth goal of the year on a free kick in the 74th minute.

"They played really well against us, and this is a bigger rivalry than they played Friday night (against Wiregrass Ranch), but they played stronger against us," King said. "Both teams will play their best, knowing what this rivalry is like and that's what it'll come down to."

Land O'Lakes had some good chances late in the game, including a cross ball that Ashleigh Williams sent over the cross bar and a solid shot from leading scorer Kayla Robinson that Mitchell keeper Lisa Jadick stopped with a diving save to her right.

Jadick made six saves in the shutout.

"Not surprising at all - it's what she's capable of," Royal Knights coach Skip Glover said of his junior keeper and captain. "I never have to worry about her when she's in goal because she always gets the job done."

River Ridge will host Land O'Lakes on Dec. 13, though both teams fully expect another match up during the district tournament. Either way, that game will just extend an already long-standing rivalry that grows with each familiar match.

"It's always going to be a hard-fought match (against Land O'Lakes)," Glover said. "Neither one of us is ever flat against the other. "But that's what you want because to be on top of your district, you have to beat the best in the district, which is always us two until the end."