By CHRIS BERNHARDT JR.
[email protected]
SPRING HILL – Two of the best boys’ soccer teams in the area met on the pitch Wednesday night at Booster Stadium and both looked the part.
In a dress rehearsal of sorts for the beginning of postseason play next week, host Springstead battled to a 0-0 tie against Wiregrass Ranch in a match where the teams came in with a combined record of 31-4.
“Even though it’s a tie it still feels like a win for us,” Springstead head coach Dominic Coco said. “To go up against one of the best teams in the area, to have them 0-0, to get as many chances as we did and to hold them scoreless, that’s a win in itself.”
“… They just played hard. Every 50-50 they contested. Evan (Serrano) our goalkeeper came up big, along with the back four. It was a big team effort defensively.”
Neither team mounted much of an offensive attack throughout the night. The Eagles (12-2-1) outshot the Bulls (19- 2-1) 8-5.
When Wiregrass Ranch did get off some shots on goal, Serrano was up to the task. The sophomore made five saves, four them in the second half as the Bulls made a bigger push after getting just one shot on goal in the first half.
“We played really good. I’m proud of them. They really showed up for this game,” Serrano said of his team. “We broke down a lot. We stayed physical. We matched them mentally and physically the whole game.”
“… I think I played really well. I won pretty much all the balls in the air and just showed up for my team.”
Springstead’s best scoring chance came with around 10 minutes remaining, when leading scorer Raul Maldonado eluded the keeper coming far out of the crease but couldn’t put the ball in the empty net as he was taken down.
The contest had a playoff intensity to it, fitting with district tournaments starting next week. Springstead had one more match on Friday against Land O’ Lakes.
“This gets us ready for districts big time,” Coco said. “I purposely do this, to play these great teams towards the back end of the season just to prepare us for districts. It showed tonight that we’re ready.”
“… I think we’re almost there. The main goal is to win districts and go on to regionals. But we’re peaking at the right time and we’re ready to roll.”
The Eagles ranked first in District 5A-5 as of Jan. 14 and fourth in Region 5A-2, placing them in strong position to advance to regionals.
It has been a successful regular season for Springstead, winning its first 11 matches before losing 2-1 to Cypress Creek in the last match before Christmas break and 6-1 to Mitchell in the first match back. The Eagles got back on track with an 8-0 victory over Fivay on Jan. 10 prior to tying the Bulls.
“We can’t complain at all. This has been what I expected and then more,” Coco said. “Just proud of the guys for the way they come into training every day. The way they represent themselves on and off the field, and they bring it every day in training, and it shows during games. That’s why our record is what it is.”
“… It’s districts. We want to win districts. We want to win our last game (against Land O’ Lakes), especially for the seniors being Senior Night, and get into regionals and make some noise.”
