January

Mitchell junior Marisa Russo, left, tangles with Hudson’s Erica Wills. Russo provided all the scoring for the Mustangs, who improved to 11-1-2.

NEW PORT RICHEY — Jeans aside, Mitchell coach Karl Kukec was bedecked Tuesday in business attire — sports jacket, tie, white button-

Exploiting their speed advantage up front, the Mustangs (11-1-2) got a hat trick from junior forward Marisa Russo in a highly touted 3-1 triumph against Hudson (14-2-1) that drew roughly 60 spectators. Mitchell, still unbeaten against Pasco County competition, snapped the Cobras' 11-match win streak.

"Those guys are just a little bit quicker off the ball than we are," Cobras coach Chris Rizzieri said, "and that was the difference." more

BROOKSVILLE - Taylor Agricola didn't score a single goal or register an assist Tuesday at the Bears' Den.

But the senior forward from Nature Coast, the county's leading scorer a season ago, made enough of an impact by just returning to the pitch.

While she played her first game of the season following surgery to repair a damaged anterior cruciate ligament, it was junior Danielle Doucet who played the starring role in a 3-0 win over host Central.

Doucet scored twice, while senior goalkeeper Sarah Berberian, making her own comeback from an injury, recorded five saves to preserve the shutout.

"We played today with a little more composure," Nature Coast Head Coach Phil Bennett said. "We've been erratic. We've been dominating teams but not finishing them off. Today we had the finishing touches.

"…We had a full team out tonight and it makes a difference. Taylor had a quiet game by her standards, but it's her first game back. It just gives the team a lift." more

LITHIA — Despite rarely having a full squad for most of the season because of injuries and absences, Newsome came into Tuesday night's match with Durant nearly intact for the first time.

But the Wolves, out of action for almost two weeks, also showed some signs of rust. And after a one-goal halftime lead, Newsome coach Kelly Townsend wasn't happy that the Wolves spent the half peppering balls in front of the net, but had little to show for it on the scoreboard.

"We were dusting the cobwebs off," Townsend said. "The defense was sending (the forwards) good balls, the midfield was sending them good balls. They just couldn't connect at all." more

Seminole entered its road test against St. Petersburg on Tuesday with an unblemished record, no losses or ties in 10 matches.

Green Devils goalkeeper Dayna Adams made sure the Warhawks wouldn't leave St. Petersburg with its perfect record intact.

Adams (five saves) made a number of late-game stops to preserve a 1-1 tie for the Green Devils. more

NAPLES — For district seeding purposes, Tuesday’s Barron Collier girls soccer match at Gulf Coast was meaningless. The Cougars had already sewn up the regular season top spot in December.

Though both teams compete in Class 5A-District 15, Tuesday’s game didn’t even count in district play — the teams’ actual district game took place nearly two months ago, with the Sharks winning.

The significance of Tuesday’s game for Barron was that it has shown it can beat anybody — except Gulf Coast, that is.

With forward Jennifer Martin scoring the contest’s only goals in the match’s first 15 minutes and the Sharks defense containing Cougars leading goal scorer Jamie Lockie, Gulf Coast defeated Barron 2-0 for the second time this season.

The victory also gave the Sharks bragging rights until the District 15 tournament begins on Jan. 21. more

Trailing by one goal to Gainesville High School at halftime Monday, Buchholz girls soccer coach Ron Messick reminded his team that they have lost just one match to a city opponent in the last 12 years.

The point of Messick's motivational message at intermission got across to his team quickly.

The Bobcats scored a pair of goals within the first nine minutes of the second half to top Gainesville 2-1.

"I let them have it at halftime and just tried to motivate them anyway I can," Messick said. "I had to let them know that GHS was not going to lay down for them and that there is a legacy that they need to protect of winning here at Buchholz." more

Kaili Torres who plays for the Ponte Vedra Storm U-16 girls, and a former Puerto Rican U-17 player

has been called in to the U-17 U.S. women's National Team for the next camp in Sunrise Florida Jan. 28-Feb 5.

Kaili will join her teammate and best friend Morgan Brian who is a returning player on this team and who also represented the U.S on the U-17's this last November at the World Cup in New Zealand.

"They are great friends, who have basically grown up together on the soccer field. They have made each other better players and better people, and they really appreciate each other on and off the field."

The Lady Dolphin soccer team will enter the new year on a down note of sorts. Not even down - a level note.

Gulf Breeze enter 2009 with an 11-3-2 mark, with the most three matches coming in the Michelle Akers Tournament Dec. 20-21 in Orlando. They tied Ponte Vedra 0-0, lost to Lake Mary 1-0 and tied Lake Howell 0-0. The three games marks the third, fourth and fifth straight tournament games where the Lady Dolphins haven't scored a goal.

We've got to work on our finishing - not even our finishing, but just creating opportunities to get to goal," Kerby said.

The Lady Dolphins have been led by senior Jessica Majewski, one of four (so far) who'll be playing college ball next season. The UWF Lady Argo to be is leading the team in goals, with many of them being set up by junior Maggie Rodgers, a future Florida Lady Gator. more

Early on it looked as if RSL u-18 girls would continue their amazing Showcase run. Three minutes into the game Chelsea Klotz dribbled the ball to the end line where she would beat the Albertson Fury defender around the corner and to the near post. Klotz sent the ball to the middle of the box to Tishia Jewell. Jewell one timed the ball past the Albertson keeper for the quick score. That would be the last real opportunity in the game for RSL. more

After a shaky ending in their first game where they blew a 3 to 0 lead with 20 minutes remaining in the game, the RSL u-18 girls defense has completely shut down any offensive threats in their last two games. They have not allowed any quality shots on goal in the last 180 minutes. more

Two University of Florida soccer players are part of the 2008 National Soccer Coaches Association of America/adidas Scholar All-America team. Senior Megan Kerns and junior Lauren Hyde both appear on the third team and they are the first UF players to appear on the NSCAA/adidas Scholar All-America team since Stacy Bishop earned her second consecutive honor in 2007.

Hyde was named to the All-SEC second team as a junior and also was a third-team selection to the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Season. A center back for the Gators, she played the entirety of 17 matches in 2008. She and Kerns also both appeared on the 2008 NSCAA/adidas All-Southeast Region third team. more

The Killian girls' soccer team went 4-0 to win the 14th annual Sarasota Holiday Soccer Classic. The tournament hosted 16 of the top high school teams in the state on Dec. 19-20.

Megan McGinley scored four goals, Nikki Gervais three, and Jackie Koffler and Brittany Zirulnick had one apiece. Gervais scored the game-winner against Venice to advance the team into the final.McGinley scored the winning goal against Dade Christian School on a penalty kick. A goal by Sara-Ann Hartley earned her tournament MVP.McGinley scored the winning goal against Dade Christian School on a penalty kick. A goal by Sara-Ann Hartley earned her tournament MVP.

The #1 Nationally ranked Eclipse Select u-18 girls dismantled Clearwater Chargers 6 to 0.

Eclipse showed why they are the #1 team in the nation. The have great speed and ball control.

Morgan Sammons had a great night on the defensive end for the RSL u-18 girls keeping Bethesda’s quick high pressure forwards from getting around the corner. Bethesda constantly pressured in their offensive third but RSL’s back line never allowed them to get off a quality shot on goal. RSL’s dangerous offense was also mostly kept in check, but was able to finish on a couple of their scarce opportunities. Noelle Pineiro scored the game’s first goal about midway through first half on a great pass she received behind the Bethesda defense. RSL’s second goal was a beautiful 25 yard strike by Brooke Williams over the leaping Bethesda Keeper. The game ended with RSL winning 2 to 0. With the win RSL just needs to win or tie today to move on to the semifinals on Saturday. RSL will play CASA Boca Jrs from California at 2:30pm Friday on field 2.

Clearwater u-18 girls keep their playoff hopes alive with a scoreless tie with Davis SC Legacy from California. The game was mostly a defensive struggle with both teams creating very few scoring opportunities. Clearwater's best scoring chance came when Leah Fisher received a pass behind the Davis defense but her shot was defected over the end line by the keeper.

Two Florida girls, Kelsey Mitchell and Alexa Rabborn, were guest playing for a Davis team that is made up of girls from all over the US as only 4 girls made the trip with the team from California.

RSL u-18 girls opened the scoring early when Chelsea Klotz scored off a Kayla Bala pass. Bala would score a goal of her own about 5 minutes later. RSL took a 2 to 0 lead into half time against the #4 nationally ranked FC Milwaukee Blue. 10 Minutes into the second half RSL looked liked they would run away with the victory when Ana Cate would rip the third goal from about 40 yards over the outstretched arms of the Milwaukee keeper. Shortly there after FC Milwaukee stepped up the pressure and scored 3 unanswered goals to tie the game. With 3 minutes left RSL’s Noelle Pineiro made a great move to beat her defender but her shot would sail wide right. The game would end in a tie. RSL is still in great position as the other teams in their bracket also tied. RSL's next game is at 7pm Thursday on Disney World field #1.

FRISCO, Texas (December 28, 2008) – US Youth Soccer Olympic Development Program (US Youth Soccer ODP) Girls Winter Interregional kicked off today at the Freedom Ridge Park in Ridgeland, Miss.

The Under-17 and Under-19 Girls participated in morning training sessions and then evening competitions. The girls will compete through Monday, December 29. Annick McBryar from RSL and a UF commit is playing for the U-17 Region III team. Chelsea Klotz also from RSL and USF is playing for the U-19 Region III team along with Kelsey Mitchell from FSA and a Virginia Tech commit. Brittany Hahn from UNF is also in Jackson playing for the United Team. more

Lindsey McCabe, a junior forward for the Clay High girls soccer team (13-2, 6-1), is leading her team to the playoffs in District 3-4A.

The Lady Blue Devils, with no seniors on the roster, are one of the surprise teams in the district and the county. McCabe, who has 34 goals this season, is nearing the school record held by Tiffany Tepley of 36. With 59 career goals, including five in one game earlier this season, McCabe is closing in on Tepley's career mark of 69. more

KANSAS CITY, Kans. - University of Tampa women's soccer player Courtney Evans was among a group of 75 players named to the NSCAA/adidas Women’s Collegiate Scholar All-America Team. The Scholar All-America selections are invited to be recognized at the annual All-America Luncheon, to be held in St. Louis, Mo., on Saturday, Jan. 17, as part of the 2009 NSCAA Convention.

A college division first team selection, Evans owns a 3.50 GPA while majoring in sports management. The academic accolades for Evans also include her selection to the ESPN the Magazine all-district team earlier this year as well.

Evans, a senior midfielder from DeLand, concluded her Spartan career while leading the team with 13 assists and 23 points. She becomes the third player in UT history to be a two-time All-American as she finished her career number two on the UT charts with 34 assists and fourth with 56 points. She was also a 2008 NSCAA All-American and all-South Region selection.

LITHIA — It's not uncommon to scan any Hillsborough County high school roster and see some matching last names. After all, siblings within four years of each other often grow up playing the same sports. Two pairs is unusual, and three sets is downright rare.

"We're seriously like one big family," Newsome coach Kelly Townsend said. "Literally."

The Wolves have a remarkable five sets of sisters dotting the roster this year: the Cates (Ana and Maria), the Grahams (Kendall and Paige), the Evers (Ashley and Caroline), the Simpsons (Sam and Jackie) and the Raineys (Hannah and Allison). more

LAKE MARY — The winner of the Michelle Akers Tournament, which featured 16 teams ranging from Tallahassee to South Florida, came down to two of Seminole County's fiercest rivals: Lake Mary and Oviedo.

In a matchup between two teams all too familiar with each other, Lake Mary defeated the Lions 1-0 Tuesday to capture its third consecutive Akers Tournament title.

"It's certainly a rivalry that will continue to grow, as they're certainly the best team in the area," said Bill Eissele, Lake Mary's coach.

Lake Mary's Nikki Hartman scored the game's only goal off a rebound in the 75th minute. A Lake Mary shot deflected off Oviedo goalkeeper Emilyn Banfield's hands, and Hartman was waiting in front of the net. more

After there devastating loss to Tampa Prep last year in the State Finals in penalty kicks, Penalty kicks again proved to be AHD Achilles Heal. St. Thomas Aquinas rallied from a second-half deficit to beat American Heritage-Delray 3-2 on penalty kicks Monday and advance to the Palm Beach Classic White Division championship match.