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Lady Knights Lose Amid Controversy

Newsome 1, River Ridge 0

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By Eric Horchy | The Suncoast News

Published: January 25, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - NEW PORT RICHEY - Euphoria turned to season-ending heartbreak in the matter of a minute for the River Ridge Lady Knights Thursday night in their home regional quarterfinal match with Newsome High.

Down 1-0 with under a minute remaining and defeat eminent, sophomore forward Mikaela Morolla slashed through the Wildcat defense to boot home what would have been the game-tying goal.

Instead, as River Ridge players and fans rejoiced, officials overturned the score, saying that Morolla banged a Newsome defender off the ball inside the goal box prior to the shot.

Just like that, the season – and an accomplished group of senior's careers – came to a close.

Voicing his disagreement with the decision but taking the high road by not engaging in confrontation with the officials, River Ridge head coach Skip Glover said afterward that he deemed the ruling inconsistent with how the previous 78 minutes were called.

"I saw a goal, that's what I saw," Glover said in assessing the play. "It was a physical match all game, it was allowed to be, and all of a sudden it wasn't."

Thursday night marked the third straight year the Lady Knights dropped a first-round home playoff match, but it was easily the most competitive of the three.

"The girls fought hard. It was the best game they played all year," Glover said. "I have no criticisms for them at all."

River Ridge lost to Newsome two years ago in a lopsided 5-0 match.

The rematch began with Newsome handedly controlling tempo and applying strong pressure. The Wildcats' defense was equally impressive at midfield by keeping any River Ridge ball handler immediately off-balance when they gained possession.

Newsome grabbed the lead in the first half when Ashley Evers drew River Ridge goalkeeper Brittany Hahn out of position and found season-leading scorer Kellie Fowke open in the middle for the uncontested score.

The Wildcats out shot River Ridge 10-5 overall, with the majority of their attempts coming in the first half.

Before the controversial overruling, the Lady Knights missed on a handful of potential opportunities as they amped up their attack in the second half.

River Ridge forwards Deana Rossi and Jenny Karl just missed each other on two separate occasions with crossing passes into the goal box midway through the final 40 minutes. Then with only 2:01 left to play, junior Shelby Holley sent a free kick soaring over the crossbar from 20 yards out.

Regardless of the loss, Glover said he was proud of how his team performed and conveyed his appreciation for a stellar senior class.

"We couldn't have gotten anywhere near where we are today without them, so we owe them a lot," he said. "Hopefully they've established a tradition that these other girls can live up to."

River Ridge's 10 soon-to-be-graduating seniors are: Deana Rossi, Brittany Hahn, Kaleigh Patri, Julie Lewandowski, Brittany Mascia, Kristen Rodelli, Kathy Nagy, Brittany Gigante, Nicole Whittle and Emily Condry.

Newsome will now advance to play rival Bloomingdale in the regional semifinals. Bloomingdale beat Land O' Lakes Thursday night, 2-0.

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