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Gulf Boys Soccer Eyeing District Tournament

Eric Horchy/SUNCOAST

Gulf Sophomore forward Tyler Best is one of many contributors that has this year's Buccaneers running toward its first district title in 18 years.

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By Eric Horchy | The Suncoast News

Published: January 23, 2009

Updated:

NEW PORT RICHEY - Rebounding strongly from a sub-.300 season can be a daunting task for a sports team on any level.

Gulf High School slogged through a 2-8-2 soccer season last year that was marred by forfeited losses and slowed by struggles with growing pains. The 2007-08 season, however, is now little more than a fading image in the review mirror of this present Buccaneers' campaign.

Now a year older, wiser and better acclimated to one another's skills, the Gulf team was 13-1-6 as of Thursday. It is also the second seed in next week's Class 4A, District 8, tournament and poised to make its first run to the playoffs since 2004.

Just qualifying for the postseason, though, is not going to satisfy these Buccaneers. They want to win districts outright for the first time in 18 years and realize a goal set since Day 1.

If that height of success is reached, it will go well with the already attained achievements of an unbeaten home record (5-0-5) and the betterment of last season's overall mark - two other goals that were previously queued.

One central factor leading to the turnaround has been the development of Gulf's freshman and sophomore classes, the team's second-year head coach, Grant Wortz, said. Five freshmen started for the Bucs last season and a handful more do as well this season.

"Obviously it would always be nice to have all upperclassmen," Wortz, a former River Ridge player, said. "But having a variety tends to produce more leadership. The older players help out younger players and that's beneficial. It makes my job a lot easier."

Wortz cited senior defender David Piro and junior midfielder Steven Van Valin as being two upperclassmen who have noticeably stepped up with their constant, positive work ethic to encourage younger players to work hard during practice and games.

Team members representing all four class ranks are making their presence felt for Wortz this season. The Bucs' top two scorers this season are a senior, Matt Juhnke, who has 15 goals and six assists, and a freshman, Travis Jehs, who's notched 13 goals and eight assists.

"Personally, I definitely didn't expect this kind of success," Jehs said of his breakout year. "But I knew the team was going to do well. I've played with a lot of these guys for a couple of years now so I'm pretty used to them."

"I didn't expect him to be this strong," Wortz said of Jehs' immediate impact. "I knew him from club and I knew he would be a workhorse up top, but it's really been a treat to watch him step up at the varsity level."

Juhnke, while saying he, too, anticipated a quality season coming into this year, also noted that the near unblemished record is a bit of a surprise at this point. He added that it could be even better if the Bucs continue to work on their focus.

"We've squeaked by or tied a lot of the easier games when we should've beaten teams a lot worse," he said. But in the big games - Hudson, Mitchell, Pasco - we definitely step it up."

"Our biggest issue is playing consistently as a team. When we go out slacking and end up tying games, that's because we're not talking and playing together."

Improvements with communication will go hand-in-hand with maintaining possession more effectively, which is what Wortz has been keying in on tightening up as districts near.

Increasing the Bucs' aptitude for possession assuredly would improve an already formidable midfield and defense that allows less than one goal per match. Junior goalkeeper Zach Waller has only let 18 balls reach the back of his net this season.

Pasco and Hudson, two of the three highest scoring teams on the North Suncoast, are most likely to block Gulf's path to the district title. The Bucs tied district top seed Pasco twice this year and went 1-0-1 against No. 3 Hudson.

The Top 2 teams in every district advance to the regional playoffs. While simply surviving the tournament as runners-up would be nice, it's not the ultimate ambition, Jehs said.

"Our main focus is winning districts, for sure," he said. "We really need to focus on Pasco."

"We'd be happy just to be (in regionals), but it wouldn't be what we really wanted."

Eric Horchy can be reached at 727-815-1071 or ehorchy@suncoastnews.com.

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