Two more Orange Belt Conference team championships will be up for grabs this week as tournaments will be held in boys’ soccer and girls’ basketball beginning today. Both sports will follow the same schedule and format, with a bracket tournament determining a champion and consolation rounds being held to determine places third through eighth.
Because of the Covid pandemic, round-robin play has been used to determine the OBC champions in team sports for most of the past two years. That started to change last season when an OBC baseball tournament was held and this year most team sports went to a week-long OBC Tournament. “Most coaches prefer the tournament arrangement,” County Athletics Director Ryan Adams said. “It creates more scheduling options for the coaches and provides the excitement of a tournament during the season that creates an exact moment when a team champion is crowned.”
Quarterfinal and semifinal rounds will be held on the campus of the highest seeds in the tournament; while St. Cloud is scheduled to host the girls’ basketball third place and championship games and Gateway is the host school for the boys’ soccer final and third place game.
Tuesday will see the start of both tournaments with quarterfinal action. The Boys’ Soccer semifinals will be on Wednesday ; while Girls’ Basketball semifinals will be contested on Thursday. Both third place and championship games in both tournaments are Friday night.
Long the county power in boys’ soccer, Celebration (7-2-1) enters the tournament as the top seed. Celebration will be attempting to complete its first sweep of the soccer championships, as the Lady Storm won its first girls’ OBC Championship last December – beating Harmony in the finals.
The Storm has played a difficult schedule to date and they are currently ranked 12th in the state overall and second in Class 7A. Jose D’lima leads the team in scoring with four goals; but a balanced attack has always been the key for the Storm – with 12 different players scoring for them this season.
Gateway (9-1-1) and Harmony (5-7-0) come into the tournament as second and third seeds; while St. Cloud (2-5-2) is seeded fourth and will also host a first round game.
Other top players include Poinciana brothers Dilan and Brando Castro (5 goals each); and Tohopekaliga junior striker Joel Rivera (5 goals); and the explosive Gateway Panther duo of Juan Cardenas (9 goals, 4 assists) and Matt Vargas (3 goals, 6 assists). Harmony features forward Alex Tuyo, midfielder Mateo Lozada, and Goalkeeper Miguel Zapata. Harmony coach Brett Ballard believes consistency will be the key for the Longhorns. “We have just not been consistent this season from one game to another,” Ballard said. “To win tournaments, you need to have that same level play from game-to-game. It’s something we continue to stress to our players.”
With Gateway serving as host institution, Panther head coach Sagar Patel believes his team is positioned to make a strong run in the tournament. “The keys for us to have a successful tournament would be to stay grounded, keep doing what we are doing, and to take it one game at a time. We can't take anyone for granted as the competition is balanced. The boys know that they can trust each other, and to do the simple things right 99% of the time,” Patel said. “With us hosting, having our crowd and parents cheer us on as they have been all year, has been a huge help and the boys always respond when the crowd get into the game.
The girls’ basketball tournament will most likely come down to the two top teams from a year ago. Both Gateway (5A) and St. Cloud (6A) dominated county schools last year, with St. Cloud edging Gateway late in the season to finish 7-0 in OBC play and win the conference title that was based on round-robin play. Gateway will enter the tournament as the top seed, with the Lady Bulldogs grabbing the second seed.
Both teams are off to solid starts. Led by veterans Vanessa Stevens and Malayna Stevenson, as well as a talented freshman class, the Panthers are off to a 15-4 start this season. St. Cloud (14-5) is led by a pair of juniors in sharp shooter Emily Lockey (15.4 ppg) and center Haley Collins (12.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg). If they meet in the tournament, it will be the second confrontation this year as the two schools played in a final of a holiday tournament in December, with St. Cloud coming out on top, 46-30.
“It was a good win for us, but we’re not going to get too excited about it,” St. Cloud coach Chad Ansbaugh said. “Because of some family commitments, both teams were missing some key players in that tournament. If we end up meeting again, we know its’ going to be a highly competitive game. I have a ton of respect for Justin (Marino, Panthers coach) and his program. He will have his kids ready to play.”
Several other teams could factor in. After his team went just 17-51 in the last four years, Paul Strauch has the Lady Longhorns sitting at 10-2 and riding an seven game winning streak. Led by freshman Natalia Calderon and senior Eva Johnson, Poinciana sits at 7-5 on the season; while 2nd year Osceola (5-8) coach Rashawnda Sippio and Tohopekaliga’s (4-7) Jen Farrell continue to build their programs.
BOYS SOCCER OBC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Quarterfinals – Tuesday, Jan. 17
Game 1: #8 Liberty (2-11-0) at #1 Celebration (7-2-1), 6 p.m.
Game 2: #7 Poinciana (6-5-0) at #2 Gateway (9-1-1), 6 p.m.
Game 3: #6 Tohopekaliga (5-6-1) at #3 Harmony (5-7-0), 7 p.m
Game 4: #5 Osceola (3-4-3) at #4 St. Cloud (2-5-3), 7 p.m.
Semifinals – Wednesday, Jan. 18
Game 5: Winner 1 vs. Winner 4 (at higher seed), 7 p.m.
Game 6: Winner 3 vs. Winner 4 (at higher seed) 7 p.m.
Consolation Round 1 – Wednesday, Jan. 18
Game 7: Loser 1 vs. Loser 2 (at higher seed) 7 p.m.
Game 8: Loser 3 vs. Loser 4 (at higher seed) 7 p.m.
7th Place Game – Friday, Jan. 20
Game 9: Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8 (at higher seed), 7 p.m.
5th Place Game-Friday, Jan. 20
Game 10: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 (at higher seed), 7 p.m.
Third Place Game-Friday, Jan. 20
Game 11: Loser 5 vs. Loser 6 at Gateway High School, 5:30 p.m
Championship Game, Friday Jan. 20
Game 12: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, Gateway High School, 7:30 p.m.
GIRLS’ BASKETBALL OBC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Quarterfinals – Tuesday, Jan. 17
Game 1: #8 Liberty (0-14) at #1 Gateway (14-4), 6 p.m.
Game 2: #7 Celebration (3-6) at #2 St. Cloud (14-4), 7 p.m.
Game 3: #6 Tohopekaliga (4-7) at #3 Harmony (10-2) 7 p.m.
Game 4: #5 Poinciana (7-5) at #4 Osceola (5-8), 6 p.m.
Semifinals – Wednesday, Jan. 18
Game 5: Winner 1 vs. Winner 4 (at higher seed), 6 p.m.
Game 6: Winner 3 vs. Winner 4 (at higher seed) 7 p.m.
Consolation Round 1 – Wednesday, Jan. 18
Game 7: Loser 1 vs. Loser 2 (at higher seed) 7 p.m.
Game 8: Loser 3 vs. Loser 4 (at higher seed) 7 p.m.
7th Place Game – Friday, Jan. 20
Game 9: Loser Game 7 vs. Loser Game 8 (at higher seed), 7 p.m.
5th Place Game-Friday, Jan. 20
Game 10: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 (at higher seed), 7 p.m.
Third Place Game-Friday, Jan. 20
Game 11: Loser 5 vs. Loser 6, St. Cloud High, 5:30 p.m
Championship Game, Friday Jan. 20
Game 12: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, at St. Cloud, 7:30 p.m.
