County soccer teams ready for tourneys

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County soccer teams ready for tourneys

Sports

Friday, 15 January 2010 12:44

By Ken Jackson
Sports Writer
It could be a noisy week for local teams at the girls district soccer tournaments, which begin Monday.
Harmony, the two-time Orange Belt Conference champion, St. Cloud and Celebration are the Nos. 2, 3 and 4 seeds at the 4A District 6 tournament, hosted by Celebration.
Osceola, led by sophomore 51-goal scorer Leah Mullins, is the No. 2 seed at the 5A-5 tournament in Lake Wales and will try to make the regional playoffs for the first time ever.
The Longhorns (10-2-2) finished off an undefeated OBC season with an 8-0 win over Gateway Tuesday. Peyton Leffew, Emily Johnson and Caitlin Beam led the scoring, and a defense anchored by goalie Kaylee Horn and sweeper Anna Blanchard tallied its seventh consecutive shutout.
That defense has been Harmony’s key all season. The team has been scored upon by two teams — Eustis, the 4A-6 top-seed, and Bishop Moore in a 3-0 loss to close the regular season on Thursday.
“We knew Bishop Moore would test us, which is what we wanted just before going into the the tournament,” HHS Coach Stephanie Jones said.
Oddly enough, the Longhorns have never won a district tournament game in five seasons. They have their best chance ever to do so Monday, when they face No. 7 seed Oak Ridge at 3 p.m. in the tournament opener.
St. Cloud (9-4) will play No. 6 seed Poinciana at 5 p.m. Monday, and the winner will play the winner of the earlier game in Wednesday’s semifinal at 5 p.m. That winner goes to the regional playoffs.
Hosts Celebration will play No. 5 seed Tavares at 7 p.m. Monday, and the winner plays Eustis on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Wednesday’s winners play in Friday’s 7 p.m. championship game.
Jones said her team is excited about accomplishing a few firsts in the district tournament, like a win, a title and a playoff berth.
“We’ve set up our whole season around giving our district a run,” she said. “If we play like we’re capable we can compete with anyone in it.”
Osceola capped off a 12-6-2 season Monday with a 4-2 win over Ridge. Mullins scored the second goal of the game, breaking the school record.
The Kowgirls will play Liberty Tuesday at 8 p.m. at Lake Wales. The winner will play the Lake Wales-Haines City winner in Thursday’s 8 p.m. semifinal. The championship is Friday at 7 p.m.
Osceola features offensive weapons aside from Mullins, such as Kiersten Martinez (10 goals) and Crystal Marshall (3 goals, 15 assists). Goalkeeper Mary Hernandez has given up just 1.4 goals per game.
OHS Coach Mark Ausherman has his sights set on a deep playoff run, one that the program has never taken.
“If the girls play like they can, especially on Thursdsay, then we could go far,” he said. “It all depends on their attitude and desire.”
Gateway is the No. 5 seed at the 6A-6 tournament at Palm Bay Bayside.
The Panthers play Centennial Tuesday at 6 p.m. The winner will play top-seeded Vero Beach Wednesday at 5:30.
The district tournament champions will host regional playoff games Jan. 28. The tournament runners-up will travel to the site of a district champion for their regional playoff contest.