Lady Longhorns ready to rumble

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Lady Longhorns ready to rumble

Sports

Friday, 14 January 2011 13:19

Photo/Special to the News-Gazette

Harmony’s soccer seniors, clockwise from bottom, are Brittany Connor, Sam Travis, Chelsea Connor, Payton Leffew, Kaylee Horn, Anna Blanchard, Emily Johnson and Natasha Cielak.

Harmony top seed at district tourney

By Ken Jackson
Sports Writer
For eight Harmony High girls soccer seniors, it’s been a long, winding road. And it’s coming to an end within the next four weeks.
When the 4A District 6 tournament begins Monday — the Longhorns will play 5 p.m. Wednesday after a first-round bye — there still will be things left for that group, which has played together four years, to accomplish.
Harmony (12-1), winner of 10 games in a row, hopes for two more wins next week to claim its first district title.
Despite going 6-0 in 4A-6 games this year and outscoring opponents 35-0, it will not be easy, thanks to the presence of Eustis, the tournament host.

Harmony lost to the Panthers three times last year. But a 1-0 win over Eustis on Nov. 18 may change her team’s mental approach, HHS Coach Stephanie Jones said.
“I won’t lie, it will be a hard road. We always get their best game,” she said. “But now I can see a confidence level against them that we’ve never had.”
A district title would mark the four-year progression of a group of seniors that includes goalie Kaylee Horn, sweeper Anna Blanchard, midfielders Emily Johnson, Natasha Cielak, Sam Travis, Brittany Connor and Chelsea Connor and forward Payton Leffew. Most of them have played varsity their entire career, beginning when Jones took over the program.
In 2007-08, the Longhorns registered their first-ever winning season (8-6-1). The next year they defeated rival St. Cloud for the first time en route to their first Orange Belt Conference title. Last year, they won games in the district tournament for the first time and made their first appearance in the regional playoffs. Despite getting on a bus to Gainesville, there were no jitters; Harmony won 2-1.
Jones said that to have such a large senior group stay together four years is unique.
“Every year there’s been a progression, which is a testament to this group. They put the work in and they don’t whine about it,” she said. “Well, maybe they do, but just a little.”
This season has brought unprecedented success already. The Longhorns are undefeated and haven’t been scored on in both the district and OBC, which they clinched for the third year in a row.
Everything they’ve done so far has been in dominant fashion. Harmony has outscored 13 opponents 68-3. Horn was scored on by just two of the teams (Vero Beach and Palm Bay), but thanks to a rigorous schedule of non-conference and non-district games, she was challenged — and turned away every offensive opportunity — by teams like Melbourne Central Catholic, West Shore and Eustis, teams that will very likely be in the playoffs.
“That’s why we scheduled them, particularly at the end of the season,” Jones said. “We want to be in the right frame of mind, coming off competitive matches, when it comes time to really focus.”
Blanchard, at sweeper, is like the bouncer at a club nobody goes into — no ball shall pass. Johnson directs and controls the midfield, but not without the help of her sister, freshman Lindsey Johnson, and sophomore Kendall Pollock.
Forty of the 68 goals came from Sage Leffew, Kaley Ward and Kaitlin Beam — a freshman, a sophomore and a junior. But, 12 of 18 players have scored goals, and 13 recorded assists.
Emily Johnson said this team has come together to form a mental edge that might be it’s strongest intangible.
“We finally have everyone together from other sports,” she said. “Together we have the drive and the focus to pull together and try to get the things we want done.”
Cielak said she’s been labeled the “team mom” for keeping everyone on task.
“I read the field even when I’m not in the game. I see things on the sideline and do what I can to pump everybody up,” she said.
Wednesday, the Longhorns will play the winner of St. Cloud and Tavares, who play Monday at 3 p.m.
That will be the first of what the team hopes is a handful of games that puts its season on the line — a fact not lost on Johnson.
“We are all nervous, but we all talk to each other to handle it,” she said.
Cielak said the team can lean on its experience from last year, which didn’t go to bad considering it was nearly all uncharted territory.
“It hit us on Senior Night (a 8-0 win over Gateway on Monday) that it might be the last time we play on that field and that it could be over soon,” she said. “But we also realize we’ve been to regionals and had success before, and now we have younger players who are really good to help.”
On Monday, Celebration plays Poinciana at 5 p.m. and Eustis plays Oak Ridge at 7 p.m., and those winners will play Wednesday at 7 p.m. Friday’s championship is at 7 p.m.
Osceola finished 4-1-1 to finish second in the OBC. In the 5A District 5 tournament at Winter Haven, the Kowgirls (14-4-1) will try to make a return trip to the regional playoffs — last year was their first ever — and do so from the No. 2 seed. The Kowgirls will play Lake Wales Monday at 7 p.m.
Liberty is the No. 3 seed, and plays Haines City at 8 p.m. The winner will play Monday’s winner at 6 p.m. on Thursday for a spot in Friday’s championship game.
“We split the series with Winter Haven (the No. 1 seed) during the season, and I believe that we can win districts,” said OHS Coach Mark Ausherman of what would be OHS’ first-ever girls district title.
Gateway, the No. 4 seed in the 6A-6 tournament at Vero Beach, will play Treasure Coast Tuesday at 7 p.m. The winner plays the host Indians Thursday at 8 p.m.
The district champions and runners-up advance to the regionals beginning Jan. 27.