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Storm soccer bumped

Sports

Thursday, 18 February 2010 00:33

By Ken Jackson
Sports Writer
The Celebration Storm fell just one goal short of the Class 4A Final Four boys soccer tournament.
Of little consolation for Coach Mike Meechin’s team is that it was the most successful team-sport run in the school’s scant seven-year history.
New Port Richey Mitchell scored a goal in the 10th minute of Friday’s Region 2 final, and it held up for a 1-0 victory at Storm Field.
Max Rockwell powered a direct kick from just outside the penalty area, and the Mustangs (24-2-3) made it stand up for another 70 minutes by stopping a handful of the best offensive chances Celebration could muster on a wet, blustery night.
The Storm (17-5) had four chances that were stopped or went just wide of the net over the next 35 minutes of play. Center midfielder Santiago Echeverri sent a shot just wide in the 19th minute. Jeremy Hong put a strong direct kick on goal in the 28th minute only to watch it get saved, then sent another just agonizingly wide 11 minutes later.
The Storm got a quality shot by Jehov Pardo de Figueroa through the Mustang defense in the 47th minute, but it went into the side of the net. Celebration finished the game with a flurry of offense, including one last cross with 46 seconds left in the match that nobody wearing purple could get a foot on.
Meechin said his team’s good effort was simply trumped.
“We played well, we just got outplayed,” he said. “We got some craziness there at the end, but it’s not our style to just throw it at the net like that and just hope it goes in.”
Mitchell played in the 4A state semifinal at the University of Tampa’s Pepin Stadium Wednesday.
Celebration won the Orange Belt Conference title and defended its district championship, yet three of the four best players in the program didn’t play at all in the postseason — sweeper Danny Castano was injured the week before districts, and two others were chosen for elite club and the U.S. Under-17 national team.
Signs point to continued success. Only three seniors started Friday’s regional final (Jeremy Hong, Christian Ardila, Jamie Anderson) and two more logged any significant minutes.
Center midfielder Santiago Echeverri, the hub of the Storm offense, is a junior. Starting goalkeeper John Birchall is a freshman.
“We set the bar again, and we’ll make another run,” Meechin said. “I’m just so proud of these guys, and we’ll be back.
“We’ve been out here since October. We’re tired, and we’re injured, but it’ll be October again before we know it.”