Awareness game - ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu
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B6 SATURDAY , DECEMBER 21, 2013 CITRUS COUNTY (FL) CHRONICLE SPORTS Citrus claims Awareness game ’Canes down CR in benefit for cancer JAMES BLEVINS Correspondent INVERNESS — In last year’s charity girls soccer game, the Crystal River Pi- rates and the Citrus Hurri- canes had things all tied up at the half and only one late-game goal, with 10 minutes left on the clock, decided the outcome in the Lady Pirates’ favor. But this year, the Sixth Annual Breast Cancer Awareness game was de- cided a lot earlier, as three first-half goals by the Lady ’Canes were enough to hold off a second-half push by the Pirates to win the con- test 3-1 on Thursday night in Hurricane Stadium. The game was also a Dis- trict 3A-7 matchup, as both schools share a district after Crystal River moved up from Class 2A in 2013. Citrus is seeded fifth in the district while Crystal River (3-12-1 overall, 3-11-1 district) recently moved behind the ’Canes in the sixth seed position after defeating the Central Bears on Dec. 17. Citrus (9-9-2, 8-6-2) started with immediate possession of the ball and early pressure in the Pi- rate defensive zone. “We did a great job step- ping up in the first half, doing what we needed to do early and sort of setting the tone,” Citrus head coach Mark Cassidy said. This early pressure re- sulted in the first Hurri- cane goal in the ninth minute by Hannah Schmidt off an accurate pass by Malene Pedersen (one goal and one assist) from across the goal face. Schmidt received the pass and punched home the goal into an open net. Pedersen added a goal of her own in the 33rd minute, unassisted, while Citrus forward Jesse Lamar punched home the final Hurricane goal of the half in stoppage time from 20 yards out for the 3-0 lead at the break. Crystal River goalkeeper Krystina Hartwell (nine saves) had an excellent game in net for the Pirates despite the loss. The game could have had a much worse complexion if not for several key saves Hartwell made off Hurricane break- aways in the first half. Katlyn Marks minded the net for the ’Canes and came up with eight saves of her own. The ’Canes easily out- shot the Pirates in the first half 10-3 but Crystal River entered the second 40-minute half with an en- tirely different attitude and looked like a com- pletely different team. “Things changed in the second half,” Cassidy said of Crystal River’s play. “The adjustments they made worked and really got us off our game and the ball spent way too much time in our half.” Crystal River outshot Citrus 7-6 in the second half and scored their first and only goal in the 70th minute as forward Morgan Heckman fed a ric- ocheted post shot back to a waiting Ginger Hutchin- son, who buried the goal. “I think the second half was a much better effort,” Crystal River head coach Bill Reyes said. “We outscored them (in the sec- ond half) 1-0 and that’s good. But we didn’t play a full 80-minute game and that is reflected on the scoreboard. “Hopefully, we’ll con- tinue to grow and learn from the second half that maybe we can hang with some of these better teams,” Reyes continued. “And Citrus is definitely one of the better teams in the district.” “(Tonight) was a typical Crystal River-Citrus match,” Cassidy said of the rivalry. “We were able to stabilize it towards the end and limit their runs (to our zone) a little bit. “But it was a lot closer than 3-1 (suggests),” Cas- sidy added. “We’re grateful for a win.” Ekeli snags 200th victory Coach watches Citrus team rout CR 8-0 DAVID PIEKLIK Correspondent CRYSTAL RIVER — The Citrus Hurricanes boys soccer team gave head coach Steve Ekeli his 200th career high school win in convincing fashion Thursday with a 8-0 dis- trict victory over Crystal River. Austin Wilcoxon scored four goals and Joshua Marsden added a hat trick as the Hurri- canes used their speed to g e t around the Pi- rates midfield a n d keep pressure on its de- fense all game. The win improves the ’Canes to 11-2-1 overall and 10-2-1 in District 3A-7; the Pirates fell to 3-13 overall and 2-11 in the district. After the game, Ekeli was congratulated for his accomplishment by the Pi- rates’ public address an- nouncer as fans for both teams applauded. Ekeli has a lot of respect for the Pirates and head coach Bobby Verlato, who he used to coach alongside with several years ago be- fore taking over the pro- gram at Citrus. “To win the 200th game here is special because I have a lot of good memo- ries here,” he said. Verlato said he learned a lot from Ekeli, and was happy for him. “Congratulations to coach Ekeli on his mile- stone… he deserves the win,” Verlato said. The ’Canes jumped out quickly in the game with Wilcoxon scoring on a Marsden corner kick just under seven minutes into the first half; Wilcoxon’s second goal came less than five minutes later and the ’Canes never let up. Marsden scored on a penalty kick in stoppage time, his 21st goal of the season. By the time the first-half whistle sounded, the Pirates had not put a shot on goal. Things didn’t improve much in the sec- ond half, with Crystal River strug- gling to get the ball past midfield. The ’Canes were able to consistently work the ball from the middle of the pitch to the outside and capitalize on the quick- ness of Marsden and Wilcoxon, making it a nightmare for Pirates goal- keepers. Though opposing teams often take measures to limit Marsden’s produc- tion, Ekeli said Wilcoxon is just as much as a threat. “When Austin Wilcoxon is in the open field with the ball on his foot,” Ekeki said, “there’s not too many guys that are going to run him down.” To win the 200th game here is special... Steve Ekeli Citrus coach said of notching the feat at Crystal River, where he previously coached. “ “ JAMES BLEVINS Correspondent S peedy, left-footed forward Christina Bresson has played for the Crystal River Pi- rate girls’ soccer team for the past two seasons, lead- ing her Pirate team in goals last year with 15, and continuing to pace the Pirates with eight goals so far this year through Nov. 18. As of Monday, Bresson, 17, ranked fifth overall on the scoring depth chart in Citrus County behind Lecanto’s dual threat of Stephanie Bandstra (21) and Lexi Moore (13) and Citrus’ goal scoring duo of Taylor Falabella (11) and exchange student Malene Pedersen (9). When it comes to scoring goals, Bresson acknowl- edges the personal sense of accomplishment she gets from it, but is quick to say how that enjoyment also stems from helping her team win games. “It’s more of a motiva- tion thing,” Bresson said. “Because I want (to score lots of goals) but every time I get a goal, I know I’m benefitting the team. “And at the same time I’m racking up my points,” Bresson added with a laugh. “My goal is to be a team leader and someone the team looks up to,” Bresson said. “(I want to) keep my top spot as top-point scorer, too. That’s always rewarding at the end of the season.” Originally from Mel- bourne, Bresson moved to Citrus County when she was in kindergarten. A home-schooled student, Bresson missed out on her freshman year playing for the Lady Pirates, despite making the team, due to paperwork issues. Despite the delay, Bres- son immediately made her presence felt as a sophomore and turned many heads, including head coach Bill Reyes, in the process. “She was our leading scorer last year and she’s our leading scorer this year, so obviously she has natural abilities in the speed department,” Reyes said of Bresson. “But she doesn’t sit on her laurels, she works very hard and she’s one of the toughest girls we have on the team.” Bresson started playing soccer in recreational leagues around Mel- bourne when she was four, before moving up to more competitive leagues in Cit- rus County, such as Citrus United, as a teenager. Bresson has her sights set on joining the medical field as a physician’s as- sistant after graduation, looking to possibly attend the University of South Florida. “A lot of my life is just soccer and work,” Bres- son said smiling, “and school.” Crystal River lost nine starting seniors at the end of its 2012-13 campaign, leaving the current sea- son as more of a rebuild- ing year for the Lady Pirates as they find them- selves in a stacked and competitive District 3A-7 with mostly lowerclass- men taking the field. “Last year I guess we had more talent,” Bresson said of last season’s Class 2A regional quarterfinal qualifying team. “This year, everyone has their own talent, we just have to figure out how to grow and work as a team and get it all together at the same time.” With such a young team, veterans like Bresson be- come key leaders and set examples of how to play on the high school level for future starters. Her experience as a Pi- rate ace forward seems to be of vital importance to Bresson when asked what her strongest attribute to the team is. “I know a lot of the younger (players) look up to me just because I have experience and I’ve been on the team (longer),” Bresson said. “I just think my experience and my knowledge from being on varsity before helps a lot. “But physically, I guess (it’s) my speed,” Bresson continued. “My speed con- tributes greatly, especially as a forward.” STEPHEN E. LASKO/For the Chronicle Crystal River junior Christina Bresson, right, leads the Pirates with eight goals this season after pacing the team with 15 during the 2012-13 campaign. Crystal River’s Bresson leads team with goals and experience Dolphins’ amazing turnaround Associated Press By now the Miami Dolphins’ sea- son was supposed to be over, with little left to do but make sure quar- terback Ryan Tannehill still had all his body parts and the NFL had an answer for what really went on in the locker room. But something happened on the way to another losing record. Some- thing clicked just when everything seemed to be falling apart after a 300-pound offensive lineman left the team saying he had been bullied. Columnists, opponents and fans questioned the team’s leadership, saying the coaches had ceded con- trol to guard Richie Incognito and his bad-boy antics. But instead of imploding, the Dolphins came to- gether. Instead of tanking, they found ways to win. “Kind of a blessing in disguise,” tackle Bryant McKinnie said. Now the Dolphins are squarely in the playoff hunt, a surprise team peaking at just the right time. With two very winnable games left they control their own destiny in a sea- son when they couldn’t even control the locker room. Players say coach Joe Philbin’s calm response to the November cri- sis put them on the winning path. “Adversity is either going to make your team strong because the leader is going to rally and pull everyone together, or make you dis- integrate because the leader is pan- icking,” said Patrick Lencioni, who writes on leadership and team building in business. “Clearly he did not panic.” The team was floundering even before Jonathan Martin walked out and Incognito was sent packing. The Dolphins had lost four straight games to fall to 3-4, and the uproar over bullying threatened to further fracture a fragile team. Owner Stephen Ross expressed his outrage. “Changes need to be made,” he said. But changes weren’t made, at least big ones. Replacements were brought in for Martin and Incognito and they proved capable. The coaching staff remained intact and general manager Jeff Ireland still has his job. But as NFL investigators traveled to Miami to interview everyone about what Incognito said or did to Martin, other things began to change. Miami started to win. The line, with backups replacing Martin and Incognito, gave up fewer sacks and opened up more room to run. And on Sunday, a fill-in safety playing his first NFL game inter- cepted a pass in the end zone to seal an upset over New England and put the Dolphins in the driver’s seat for their first playoff appearance in five years. “With all the distractions, every- body still wanted to win,” McKinnie said. “We found a way to remain focused.” Associated Press On the way to another losing season, Mike Wallace and the Miami Dolphins had something click just when everything seemed to be falling apart.
Transcript of Awareness game - ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu
B6 SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2013 CITRUS COUNTY (FL) CHRONICLESPORTS
Citrus claimsAwareness game’Canes downCR in benefit
for cancerJAMES BLEVINS
Correspondent
INVERNESS — In lastyear’s charity girls soccergame, the Crystal River Pi-rates and the Citrus Hurri-canes had things all tiedup at the half and only onelate-game goal, with 10minutes left on the clock,decided the outcome inthe Lady Pirates’ favor.
But this year, the SixthAnnual Breast CancerAwareness game was de-cided a lot earlier, as threefirst-half goals by the Lady’Canes were enough to holdoff a second-half push bythe Pirates to win the con-test 3-1 on Thursday nightin Hurricane Stadium.
The game was also a Dis-trict 3A-7 matchup, as bothschools share a districtafter Crystal River movedup from Class 2A in 2013.
Citrus is seeded fifth inthe district while CrystalRiver (3-12-1 overall, 3-11-1 district) recentlymoved behind the ’Canesin the sixth seed positionafter defeating the CentralBears on Dec. 17.
Citrus (9-9-2, 8-6-2)started with immediatepossession of the ball andearly pressure in the Pi-rate defensive zone.
“We did a great job step-ping up in the first half,doing what we needed todo early and sort of settingthe tone,” Citrus headcoach Mark Cassidy said.
This early pressure re-sulted in the first Hurri-cane goal in the ninthminute by HannahSchmidt off an accuratepass by Malene Pedersen(one goal and one assist)from across the goal face.Schmidt received the passand punched home thegoal into an open net.
Pedersen added a goalof her own in the33rd minute, unassisted,while Citrus forward JesseLamar punched home thefinal Hurricane goal of the
half in stoppage time from20 yards out for the 3-0lead at the break.
Crystal River goalkeeperKrystina Hartwell (ninesaves) had an excellentgame in net for the Piratesdespite the loss. The gamecould have had a muchworse complexion if not forseveral key saves Hartwellmade off Hurricane break-aways in the first half.
Katlyn Marks mindedthe net for the ’Canes andcame up with eight savesof her own.
The ’Canes easily out-shot the Pirates in the firsthalf 10-3 but Crystal Riverentered the second 40-minute half with an en-tirely different attitudeand looked like a com-pletely different team.
“Things changed in thesecond half,” Cassidy saidof Crystal River’s play.“The adjustments theymade worked and reallygot us off our game and theball spent way too muchtime in our half.”
Crystal River outshotCitrus 7-6 in the secondhalf and scored their firstand only goal in the70th minute as forwardMorgan Heckman fed a ric-ocheted post shot back to awaiting Ginger Hutchin-son, who buried the goal.
“I think the second halfwas a much better effort,”Crystal River head coachBill Reyes said. “Weoutscored them (in the sec-ond half) 1-0 and that’sgood. But we didn’t play afull 80-minute game andthat is reflected on thescoreboard.
“Hopefully, we’ll con-tinue to grow and learnfrom the second half thatmaybe we can hang withsome of these betterteams,” Reyes continued.“And Citrus is definitelyone of the better teams inthe district.”
“(Tonight) was a typicalCrystal River-Citrusmatch,” Cassidy said of therivalry. “We were able tostabilize it towards the endand limit their runs (to ourzone) a little bit.
“But it was a lot closerthan 3-1 (suggests),” Cas-sidy added. “We’re gratefulfor a win.”
Ekeli snags200th victoryCoach watchesCitrus teamrout CR 8-0DAVID PIEKLIK
Correspondent
CRYSTAL RIVER —The Citrus Hurricanesboys soccer team gavehead coach Steve Ekeli his200th career high schoolwin in convincing fashionThursday with a 8-0 dis-trict victory over CrystalRiver.
Austin Wilcoxon scoredfour goals and JoshuaMarsden added a hat trickas theH u r r i -c a n e su s e dt h e i rspeed tog e taroundthe Pi-r a t e smidfielda n dkeep pressure on its de-fense all game. The winimproves the ’Canes to 11-2-1 overall and 10-2-1 inDistrict 3A-7; the Piratesfell to 3-13 overall and 2-11in the district.
After the game, Ekeliwas congratulated for hisaccomplishment by the Pi-rates’ public address an-nouncer as fans for bothteams applauded.
Ekeli has a lot of respectfor the Pirates and headcoach Bobby Verlato, whohe used to coach alongsidewith several years ago be-fore taking over the pro-gram at Citrus.
“To win the 200th gamehere is special because Ihave a lot of good memo-
ries here,” he said.Verlato said he learned
a lot from Ekeli, and washappy for him.
“Congratulations tocoach Ekeli on his mile-stone… he deserves thewin,” Verlato said.
The ’Canes jumped outquickly in the game withWilcoxon scoring on aMarsden corner kick justunder seven minutes intothe first half; Wilcoxon’ssecond goal came less thanfive minutes later and the’Canes never let up.
Marsden scored on apenalty kick in stoppagetime, his 21st goal of theseason. By the time thefirst-half whistle sounded,the Pirates had not put a
shot ong o a l .T h i n g sd i d n ’ timprovemuch inthe sec-ond half,w i t hCrystalR i v e rs t r u g -
gling to get the ball pastmidfield.
The ’Canes were able toconsistently work the ballfrom the middle of thepitch to the outside andcapitalize on the quick-ness of Marsden andWilcoxon, making it anightmare for Pirates goal-keepers.
Though opposing teamsoften take measures tolimit Marsden’s produc-tion, Ekeli said Wilcoxon isjust as much as a threat.
“When Austin Wilcoxonis in the open field withthe ball on his foot,” Ekekisaid, “there’s not too manyguys that are going to runhim down.”
To win the200th game here is
special...Steve Ekeli
Citrus coach said of notching the feat at
Crystal River, where he previously coached.
“ “
JAMES BLEVINSCorrespondent
Speedy, left-footedforward ChristinaBresson has played
for the Crystal River Pi-rate girls’ soccer team forthe past two seasons, lead-ing her Pirate team ingoals last year with 15,and continuing to pacethe Pirates with eightgoals so far this yearthrough Nov. 18.
As of Monday, Bresson,17, ranked fifth overall onthe scoring depth chart inCitrus County behindLecanto’s dual threat ofStephanie Bandstra (21)and Lexi Moore (13) andCitrus’ goal scoring duo ofTaylor Falabella (11) andexchange student MalenePedersen (9).
When it comes to scoringgoals, Bresson acknowl-edges the personal sense ofaccomplishment she getsfrom it, but is quick to sayhow that enjoyment alsostems from helping herteam win games.
“It’s more of a motiva-tion thing,” Bresson said.“Because I want (to score
lots of goals) but everytime I get a goal, I knowI’m benefitting the team.
“And at the same timeI’m racking up my points,”Bresson added with alaugh.
“My goal is to be a teamleader and someone theteam looks up to,” Bressonsaid. “(I want to) keep mytop spot as top-pointscorer, too. That’s alwaysrewarding at the end ofthe season.”
Originally from Mel-bourne, Bresson moved toCitrus County when shewas in kindergarten. Ahome-schooled student,Bresson missed out on herfreshman year playing forthe Lady Pirates, despitemaking the team, due topaperwork issues.
Despite the delay, Bres-son immediately madeher presence felt as asophomore and turnedmany heads, includinghead coach Bill Reyes, inthe process.
“She was our leadingscorer last year and she’sour leading scorer thisyear, so obviously she hasnatural abilities in the
speed department,” Reyessaid of Bresson. “But shedoesn’t sit on her laurels,she works very hard andshe’s one of the toughestgirls we have on the team.”
Bresson started playingsoccer in recreationalleagues around Mel-bourne when she was four,before moving up to morecompetitive leagues in Cit-rus County, such as CitrusUnited, as a teenager.
Bresson has her sightsset on joining the medicalfield as a physician’s as-sistant after graduation,looking to possibly attendthe University of SouthFlorida.
“A lot of my life is justsoccer and work,” Bres-son said smiling, “andschool.”
Crystal River lost ninestarting seniors at the endof its 2012-13 campaign,leaving the current sea-son as more of a rebuild-ing year for the LadyPirates as they find them-selves in a stacked andcompetitive District 3A-7with mostly lowerclass-men taking the field.
“Last year I guess we
had more talent,” Bressonsaid of last season’s Class2A regional quarterfinalqualifying team. “Thisyear, everyone has theirown talent, we just have tofigure out how to growand work as a team andget it all together at thesame time.”
With such a young team,veterans like Bresson be-come key leaders and setexamples of how to playon the high school levelfor future starters.
Her experience as a Pi-rate ace forward seems tobe of vital importance toBresson when asked whather strongest attribute tothe team is.
“I know a lot of theyounger (players) look upto me just because I haveexperience and I’ve beenon the team (longer),”Bresson said. “I justthink my experience andmy knowledge from beingon varsity before helps a lot.
“But physically, I guess(it’s) my speed,” Bressoncontinued. “My speed con-tributes greatly, especiallyas a forward.”
STEPHEN E. LASKO/For the Chronicle
Crystal River junior Christina Bresson, right, leads the Pirates with eight goals this season after pacing the teamwith 15 during the 2012-13 campaign.
Crystal River’s Bresson leads team with goals and experience
Dolphins’ amazing turnaroundAssociated Press
By now the Miami Dolphins’ sea-son was supposed to be over, withlittle left to do but make sure quar-terback Ryan Tannehill still had allhis body parts and the NFL had ananswer for what really went on inthe locker room.
But something happened on theway to another losing record. Some-thing clicked just when everythingseemed to be falling apart after a300-pound offensive lineman left theteam saying he had been bullied.
Columnists, opponents and fansquestioned the team’s leadership,saying the coaches had ceded con-trol to guard Richie Incognito andhis bad-boy antics. But instead ofimploding, the Dolphins came to-gether. Instead of tanking, theyfound ways to win.
“Kind of a blessing in disguise,”tackle Bryant McKinnie said.
Now the Dolphins are squarely inthe playoff hunt, a surprise teampeaking at just the right time. Withtwo very winnable games left theycontrol their own destiny in a sea-son when they couldn’t even controlthe locker room.
Players say coach Joe Philbin’scalm response to the November cri-sis put them on the winning path.
“Adversity is either going to makeyour team strong because theleader is going to rally and pulleveryone together, or make you dis-integrate because the leader is pan-icking,” said Patrick Lencioni, whowrites on leadership and teambuilding in business. “Clearly hedid not panic.”
The team was floundering even
before Jonathan Martin walked outand Incognito was sent packing.The Dolphins had lost four straightgames to fall to 3-4, and the uproarover bullying threatened to furtherfracture a fragile team.
Owner Stephen Ross expressedhis outrage.
“Changes need to be made,” hesaid.
But changes weren’t made, atleast big ones. Replacements werebrought in for Martin and Incognitoand they proved capable. Thecoaching staff remained intact andgeneral manager Jeff Ireland stillhas his job.
But as NFL investigators traveled
to Miami to interview everyoneabout what Incognito said or did toMartin, other things began to change.
Miami started to win. The line,with backups replacing Martin andIncognito, gave up fewer sacks andopened up more room to run.
And on Sunday, a fill-in safetyplaying his first NFL game inter-cepted a pass in the end zone to sealan upset over New England and putthe Dolphins in the driver’s seat fortheir first playoff appearance infive years.
“With all the distractions, every-body still wanted to win,” McKinniesaid. “We found a way to remain focused.”
Associated Press
On the way to another losing season, Mike Wallace and the Miami Dolphinshad something click just when everything seemed to be falling apart.
