Veteran teams see playoff potential

By Ken Jackson
Sports Writer

Celebration’s boys and Harmony’s girls claimed the Orange Belt Conference soccer titles last year while making runs into the regional playoffs. They are favorites to repeat, although it won’t be easy to defend, particularly on the boys side.

Osceola and Gateway bring back talent that helped them contend last year. Celebration welcomes a new boys coach.

Harmony

If the Lady Longhorns team looks familiar, it’s because nine starters return from that team that went 13-4-2, pitched 13 shutouts and made its first regional playoff appearance a year ago.

“The core of that team is back, and things look very good,” Coach Stephanie Jones said. “After last year’s success, this year brings with it higher expectations and more stress.

“The motto is, ‘Take the next step.’ Progress means going farther than last year.”

Solving Harmony means finding a way around sweeper Anna Blanchard and goalie Kaylee Horn, two of the seniors. Sophomore Kendall Pollock will join that defense when volleyball season ends.

Emily Johnson, Natasha Cielak, Sam Travis, Brittany Connor and Chelsea Connor, and sophomore Kaley Ward will possess the ball in the midfield. Up front, junior Caitlin Beam and senior Payton Leffew provide the scoring punch.

Winning the district championship for the first time is on the list of goals, but three-time champion Eustis is a tough roadblock there.

“Eustis is always the team to beat, and we know we’ve got their attention. We did what we could with the schedule in order to face as much top competition as possible.”

Harmony opened the season with 8-0 wins over Osceola and Tavares.

“And, the good thing is the scoring was spread around,” Jones said. “Everybody contributed.”

Varsity returners for Scott Grieve’s boys team include forwards Clayton Chambers, Jansen Bernuy and Chris Huff, and midfielder Aaron Pollock.

Newcomers include sophomores Nicholas Craig, Andrew Harrison and Diego Vazquez-Lopez, junior David Funk and senior Jose Torres.

Osceola

Tom Bell is back for his fifth season and he has the Kowboys ready to challenge in 5A District 5 with the likes of Ridge, Winter Haven and Haines City.

“They’ll have guys who are bigger than us, but I can put 11 guys on the field who played last year,” Bell said.

The offensive part of the team, forwards Oreon Trajano and Johnny Ferrera and midfielders Jordy Urbina, Eric Alfaro, Josh Martinez and Manny Caceses all are returning starters. Goalkeeper Jeanfred Santos started the second half of the season.

Middle fullback Greg Martinez and sweeper Juan Silva will lock down the defense on a team that may find success by outworking opponents, Bell said.

“This group works harder than any I’ve ever had here. A couple of the guys have taken ownership of this team,” he said. “I’ve got 22 guys, and they’re all going to rotate and play.”

But Bell still sees the conference as a challenge.

“Celebration, Gateway, Harmony, those guys are all going to be tough,” he said.

Girls coach Mark Ausherman led the Kowgirls to a 14-8-2 record and the regional playoffs for the first time in program history last year.

A group of juniors returns. At the top of the list is forward Leah Mullins, who rewrote the school’s single-season scoring book with 55 goals. Claire Tudor and Kiersten Martinez are in the midfield, and goalie Mary Hernandez returns.

Ausherman lists a district championship as the goal, but to do it OHS must navigate past talented Lake Wales and Winter Haven.

St. Cloud

Coach Weylan Craig’s team features eight returning seniors, most among a group of strong and speedy midfielders and forwards, meaning the Bulldogs could make noise this year.

Mark Arft, T.J. Price, Catarino Martinez and Brian Rodriguez return to the midfiled, and junior Calixto Bravo is a new addition to the center of it. Senior Alain Moise and sophomore Nick Askey will firm up the defense once the football season ends.

Craig sees Celebration and Oak Ridge as teams to contend with in the district. The Bulldogs will play Harmony twice before the holiday break for the “Bull-Horn Trophy.”

“We won our first-round game last year, so I think we can be district contenders again this year,” Craig said.

Alexander Skodnik takes over a Lady Bulldog program hit hard by graduation. Four varsity starters return: goalkeeper Megan Lubick, midfielder Rebecca Creagan and forwards Melissa Arft and Kristin Detroyer. Midfielders Lynnsey Glunt and Audra Bosler also played last year.

“We’re basically a brand-new team and will take growing pains,” Skodnik said. “If we can come together we might surprise everyone in the districts.”

Gateway

The Panthers dueled with Celebration for the OBC title, ultimately losing  by a point (5-1 to 4-0-2). They dropped a 3-2 heartbreaker in the 6A-6 semifinals last year to Port St. Lucie Centennial that Coach Oswald Attin vows to avenge.

“We are aiming for the district title, and the OBC is up for grabs. We feel we have a lot to play for,” he said.

The team returns much of the scoring punch with senior forward Andres Jara and junior midfielder Felipe Oliviera. Sandro Salazar, David Espitia, Walter Marquez and Carlos Rojas roam the midfield. Adrian Rowe also will play up front.

Junior Diego Alejos returns as the starting goalkeeper. Luis Betancourt and Sager Patel lead the defense in front of him.

Lady Panthers Coach Andres Rivera returns three midfielders — Atar Hajali, Nashielly Martinez And Jess Diaz — and sweeper Kaley White.

“They have really impressed me with their improvement over last year,” Rivera said.

Beatrice Abrew is the goalkeeper.

Celebration

The Storm went 17-5 and reached the regional final, where they lost 1-0 to eventual 4A state champ Mitchell. Michael Meechin handed the reins to Julio Machuca, a former college coach in Nebraska.

“Early on we’re still getting to know each other, and I’m learning how they tick,” he said. “I don’t want to change what isn’t broke, but I want to see if anything needs to be fixed.”

County player of the year Santiago Echeverri returns to be the hub of the offense at central midfielder. John Birchall, who starting in goal as a freshman, is back at that end of the field.

In between is a very strong midfield and set of strikers, who are interchangeable. Seniors Dominic Barros, Michael Anderson, Brian Santos and Jehov Figueroa, junior Miguel Cortes and sophomore Jhesu Figueroa return. Senior Michael Tom will start the year with the varsity. Junior Michael Mays and sophomores Juan Barbosa, Christian Gonzalez and Alexander Hernandez are also newcomers.

Like Harmony’s girls, the Storm look to take the next step, which would land it in Tampa at the 4A Final Four.

“The kids are talking about state, but talk is cheap. You’ve got to take the steps,” Machuca said. “My goal as coach is to have this team peaking in time for the playoffs.”

The Storm began the season with impressive shutouts over Freedom (1-0) and Bishop Moore (2-0).

Ed Kuzma’s girls team was 13-7-1 last year, but the victim of a strong district that includes Harmony, St. Cloud and defending champion Eustis. The Storm were, as usual, a factor in the OBC, but lost offensive threat Natalie Melo, goalie Shelby West and the entire defense to graduation.

All is not lost. Seniors Jillian Strogis and Laura Rodriguez and junior Marianna Villarroel return to form an experienced midfield nucleus, and a talent group of young players who only lack match experience will replenish the defense — junior Taylor Mazurek, sophomore Daniela Castano and freshmen Caroline Strogis and Rachel Barry. Senior Katie McCorkle is in goal.

“The freshmen, transfers and JV additions we have made will all have an immediate impact on our team,” Kuzma said. “It will take time, but as these girls play together and get to know the team around them, they will become a team that is certainly stronger than their individual parts.”

Poinciana

Daniel Habel takes over the Eagles program, which will be led by midfielders Darnell Barumuller and Camilo Rodriguez, defender Jamie Hodgson and goalkeeper Jordan Brown. Other players will filter in as the cross country and football seasons end.

Ryans Calmont coaches the girls team, which returns sophomores Estafany Abastia (de-fense) and Gabrielle Rodriguez (midfield) and junior midfielder Andrea Betancur. Goalkeeper Martie Wagner is a senior.

Other seniors include defenders Kaytlin Rice and Paola Paz and midfielder Nathali Fierro. Midfielder Kristie Cosme is a junior.

Liberty

Girls coach Kim Murphy returns four players: sophomore defenders Yamileth Diaz and Katia Rivas, junior midfielder Emily Brouillard and senior goalkeeper Brenda Toro. The boys team is coached by Ken Woehr.