Raiders soccer teams posting solid numbers

There is a friendly competition under way between the boys and girls soccer teams at Plant City High.

And it's one that frankly would not have made too much sense to stage in recent years.

The sides are battling over who will end up with the most goals for the year. That's a big nod in favor of the girls team, which can realistically hold its own in the goals category this season.

Plant City's girls came close to having a winning record in 2009-10 but have not had one since 2000, the one and only time the Raiders made the postseason. This year under new head coach Justin Throneburg the Raiders are trying for another berth and their first-ever playoff victory.

A large group of talented freshmen, four of whom play for Throneburg's Brandon Flames club team, is the reason for such a positive outlook. Ericka Lott, Stephanie Galloway, Diana Corzine and Tori Nizamoff are the club players and recently helped the Brandon team win the CASL Shootout Championship in Raleigh, N.C.

Last week in a 8-0 win against King, the second mercy-rule win of the year for the Raiders girls, seven of the 11 starting players were freshmen.

"They certainly don't play like freshmen," Throneburg said. "That group (of club players) have been playing together the last two years at a very high level."

Plant City also returns quality performers including Cristina and Nidia Gutierrez from last year's squad.

The boys team also has quite a lot of talent back from last year's regional final unit. Standouts Jorge Martinez, A.J. Black, Cameron Roberts and Trent Lott return. Joining them is sensational sophomore Gerson Herrera.

"He didn't play as a freshman but wow, is he a great striker," said second-year boys head coach Steve Rossiter. "He's from Honduras, has been living here for seven years, didn't speak a word of English when he arrived and is now a 4.4 GPA student and a great kid. But when he hits the soccer field he turns into an animal."

Herrera had a hat trick in a 6-2 victory at King High.

Another first-year Raider with obvious skill is a senior, Jose "Turtle" Salgado.

Both Raiders squads fell to Newsome in their Nov. 10 season openers. Although Newsome has to be considered the favorites to win the district, Plant City certainly will challenge Durant and to some degree East Bay for postseason rights.

With a return trip in mind, Rossiter scheduled a preseason tournament in Auburndale - the team that won Region 5A-2 last year.

"We played four games there, but the whole point of going was to play Auburndale and see how we match up with them," Rossiter said. Plant City lost the game 1-0.

Durant's boys began the year with a 2-0 win over Strawberry Crest. Head coach Jamin Hollingsworth said the team is led by a pair of senior captains, both four-year starters, David Eisenhauer and Andres Plate.

Connor Bass, who has been exclusively the goaltender, will play some forward this season to take advantage of his height.

dsharp@tampatrib.com