Harmony soccer advances

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Harmony soccer advances

Sports

Friday, 28 January 2011 13:11

News-Gazette Photo/Octavian Cantilli

Caitlin Beam (3, white) takes a shot during the Lady Longhorns’ 5-0 regional soccer win over Belleview Thursday at Harmony. Beam scored a goal and had an assist. Harmony hosts Eustis in Tuesday’s 4A-2 semifinals.

Lady Longhorns blank Belleview in 4A-2 regional

By Ken Jackson
Sports Writer
Harmony’s win over Belleview in Thursday’s 4A Region 2 quarterfinal match was stretches of “good” between periods of “good enough.”
It might not appear that way by looking at the lopsided 5-0 score, but Longhorns Coach Stephanie Jones has a trained soccer eye.
“A win is a win, some are just not as pretty as others,” she said. “We got what we needed done and we’re moving on. The battles are just beginning.”

She was likely referring to Tuesday’s regional semifinals, when Eustis comes to Longhorn Field at 7 p.m. The Panthers, 2-1 winners Thursday over Gainesville Eastside, lost to the Longhorns in the regular season and 4A District 6 title game this season. Eustis beat Harmony in three meetings last year.
Despite looking like they were stuck in a low gear early on, Harmony (15-1) got on the board less than seven minutes into the match and never looked back. Emily Johnson, one of eight four-year seniors, redirected a throw-in with a nifty right-footed blasted from 15 yards out. Fifteen minutes later, sophomore Kaley Ward put freshman Sage Leffew’s crossing pass in the left corner of the net.
From there, defensive stalwarts Anna Blanchard and Breana Plattner turned back nearly every Rattler offensive chance; goalie Kaylee Horn wasn’t seriously tested until batting down a Belleview (13-6) corner kick with five minutes left in the first half.
Ward, Leffew and Caitlin Beam added goals in the second half, when the team clearly picked up the intensity, Blanchard said.
“Maybe we got that first goal and thought we were all right,” she said. “We really came together at the half.”
Johnson actually thought the Longhorns played well.
“I’m not sure we expected to score that many in a regional game,” she said.
The Longhorns now have outscored opponents 84-4 in 16 matches. They defeated Eustis 1-0 in the regular season and 3-1 in the district tournament.
In boys soccer, three county teams (a new high) will likely play in Thursday’s regional quarterfinals. Gateway and Osceola punched their tickets by winning district semifinals, and Celebration, the defending 4A-6 champion, played Poinciana, who the Storm beat 11-3 during the season, on Friday.
In the 6A District 6 tournament at Treasure Coast High, Gateway (12-7-3) outlasted St. Lucie West Centennial 4-3 in penalty kicks after its semifinal on Wednesday ended in a 1-1 tie after overtime. The Panthers played Vero Beach, who upset No. 1 seed Treasure Coast, in their semifinal, on Friday.
In the 5A-5 tournament at Liberty, Osceola (17-4-1) advanced to the regional playoffs for the first time since 2003 by downing Sebring, 3-0, in the district semifinal Thursday. After a scoreless half, Michael Bonilla scored twice, Jordy Orbina added a big insurance goal late and Oreon Trejano, Jonathan Fraire and Manny Caceres added assists.
OHS Coach Tom Bell said his team is playing its strongest soccer when it counts the most.
“We played really well in that second half. We had like eight shots in the first half but couldn’t get them on point, we finished on those in the second half,” he said.
“Sebring is a big, fast physical team but our defense shut them down and we’re really happy that we’ll be playing next week.
The Kowboys played Davenport Ridge in the championship game Friday.
In the 4A-6 tournament at Harmony, pushed back two days because of Tuesday evening’s thunderstorm outbreak, Friday’s Celebration-Poinciana and Tavares-Oak Ridge winners will play Saturday at 6 p.m. The Storm (11-1-3) picked up their first loss last Friday, but it was to nationally-ranked Montverde Academy.
“That team could easily compete at the college level,” CHS Coach Julio Machuca said. “But we came out of it healthy and the kids got to see where we have to improve, because everybody we play from now on is going to be strong.”
See aroundosceola.com’s sports section for updates on Friday’s and Saturday’s games.