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Countryside, Palm Harbor Advance To Finals

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By Eric Horchy | The Suncoast News

Published: January 9, 2008

PALM HARBOR - PALM HARBOR - COUNTRYSIDE 1, DUNEDIN 0

Persistence in sports can pay off handsomely, and Countryside High proved it Tuesday night during their 1-0 victory over Dunedin at the annual Palm Harbor University Hurricane Watch Boy's Soccer Tournament.

The Cougars dominated the match's tempo throughout the night and repeatedly attacked the net, but mostly to no avail.

It was not until the last of Countryside's 19 shots on goal that one finally found the back of the net.

Junior Joe Gratt was able to break away from defenders inside the Dunedin goal box long enough for teammate Derya Ekren to hit him with a crossing pass. He then converted a relatively easy tap-in goal.

"It definitely wasn't our best performance, but in crunch time they stepped it up," Countryside head coach David Sica said afterwards. "We were creating opportunities, but we just couldn't finish."

"Dunedin played an excellent game. They played to their strengths."

It was a bend-but-don't-break defense and the goal keeping of Brian Kibbey that kept Dunedin in the game.

Countryside (8-5-4) had eight separate corner kick or throw-in opportunities to sail the ball into Dunedin's goal box and convert, but they missed on each.

Much of that was due to Kibbey stepping in and breaking up a Cougar attack before it could fully develop.

"His timing was flawless tonight," Dunedin head coach David Rowe said of his junior keeper. "He definitely kept us in the game."

As the game progressed with the Cougars still applying pressure time and again, the feeling of an eventual Countryside goal seemed inevitable.

Countryside's skill-position players at midfield were the difference makers Tuesday night. By consistently winning possession, they did not allow Dunedin to set up many quality attacks.

The Falcons were only able to manage three shots all night.

The victory guaranteed the Cougars a meeting with host Palm Harbor in the championship game of the six-team tournament. Countryside won their first match Monday night, beating East Lake 1-0.

PALM HARBOR 3, MITCHELL 0

Palm Harbor University outlasted the Mitchell Mustangs in the night's second match; breaking open a tight 1-0 first half lead midway through the second and winning 3-0.

After a strong start from Mitchell, the flow of the game shifted to the Hurricanes' advantage.

"We came out kind of flat, but they got into it," PHU head coach Alex Delgado said, mentioning that he would like to see his team get out of the habit of slow starts as district playoff time approaches.

PHU took advantage of their speed on the front lines with Ishmail Kamara, Jeremy Paul and Ben Sweat chasing down deep passes and setting up quality opportunities for each other.

"One thing you can't teach is speed," Delgado said of his guys on top. "We have some blazers."

The speedy attackers were key in the Hurricanes out shooting Mitchell 20-8.

PHU (16-0-2) broke the scoreless tie midway through the first half on midfielder Ben Sweat's blast from the left side that Mitchell goal keeper Robbie Wallace got his hands on, but could not handle.

Though beaten three times, Wallace played a solid game, recording 10 saves.

The Mustangs nearly knotted the match up before the half ended, but Rob Coleman's close-range shot from the right side railed off the crossbar after a receiving a nice delivery pass from Zach Withrock.

Mitchell (11-6-2) held their ground through the start of the final half, but PHU's aggressiveness and speed eventually took control.

"We didn't play a bad game, we just weren't able to finish sometimes," Mitchell head coach Oscar Ubillus said. "We had our opportunities; it was only a one goal difference for a while."

The Hurricanes grabbed a two goal advantage when Paul beat Wallace on a breakaway 16 minutes into the second half.

Beating back a few late game Mitchell surges, P.J. McDonald capped the scoring less than ten minutes later.

Palm Harbor will get to rest until Friday, when they meet Countryside in the tournament finals at 8:00 p.m.

Mitchell plays their second game Thursday versus Lakewood at 8:00 p.m. Depending upon their outcome and the final score of the East Lake-Dunedin match up, the Mustangs may play again for the third-place match taking place Friday before the championship.

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