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Suncoast Pasco News

Young Seahawks No Match For River Ridge

River Ridge 8, Sunlake 0

Eric Horchy/SUNCOAST NEWS

River Ridge's Brittany Gigante leaps to gain control of the ball.

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By Eric Horchy | The Suncoast News

Published: November 28, 2007

LAND O' LAKES - LAND O' LAKES - Halfway through the 2007-08 girl's soccer season, Wednesday night's non-district match up between undefeated River Ridge and winless Sunlake held little long-term implications for either.

A quick peek at the tale of the tape between these two programs shows why this was a David and Goliath-esque meeting – one where Goliath surely held true to form.

River Ridge (8-0-1) effortlessly dispatched of the Seahawks (0-10-0) in just over one half of regulation play before the mercy rule ended the beating at 8-0.

The Royal Knights are an experienced team striving for greatness and hoping for a deep push into the Class 5A playoffs. The Seahawks represent a school embarking upon their first year in existence and possess no senior Class of 2008.

Following the game, River Ridge has scored 47 goals and allowed only six. Sunlake has now let 72 shots to reach the back of their net. In ten games, they have returned the favor on only one single occasion.

It was the seventh time they have been on the short end of the eight-goal mercy rule.

The vast majority of the game was played in Sunlake territory. River Ridge goalkeeper Brittany Hahn never saw a shot come her way as she stood roughly 10 yards in front of the entire goal box most the evening.

Seven Royal Knights took part in the stat-padding scoring spree. Deana Rossi – the team's leading scorer and one of Pasco County's finest – added to her season total with numbers 16 and 17.

Following Nicole Whittle's game ending goal after only 1:29 had elapsed in the second half, River Ridge head coach Skip Glover spoke of the possible benefits that can still be taken away from such a lopsided match.

"Sometimes it's just a reward for some of the girls who don't get the glory, the ones that are stuck in the back all the time," he said.

Such happened to be the case with Whittle, who typically plays sweeper where she is typically either defending or setting up the front line goal scorers like Rossi and sophomore Mikaela Morolla. The latter also added a goal of her own in the first half.

With the amount of experience Glover enjoys on this year's team, he said neither complacency nor overconfidence are effects his players succumb to following nights like this.

River Ridge will now enjoy a week off before jumping back into District 5A-7 competition. The girls head to East Pasco yet again to play for their second meeting with Wesley Chapel – a team they tore through 8-0 as well.

As for the young Seahawks, they have nine remaining games and – though there will assuredly be more bumps and bruises along the way – can chalk this inaugural season up to learning the ropes.

Sunlake travels to Ridgewood tonight in hopes of improving upon a 6-0 loss the Lady Rams handed them 16 days ago.

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