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Highlands Today

Green Dragons Dominate Red Devils

CHRIS HOFFMAN/Highlands Today

Lake Placid's Erica Resendiz (26) and Avon Park's Missy Lander go for the ball during Monday's match at Joe Franza Stadium.

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By Christopher  Hoffman | Highlands Today

Published: November 14, 2007

The hats didn't litter the field and jerseys were not ripped off and twirled over player's heads after scoring a goal as we've seen so many times on television, but the bath of congratulations from within the tight-knit Lake Placid Green Dragons was enough for them.

LP's Erica Resendiz earned a "hat trick" against Avon Park, scoring three goals and assisting on another, while Yuribia Terrones scored twice in the Green Dragons 6-0 win over the Avon Park Red Devils at Joe Franza Stadium on Monday.

The win improves Class 3A LP to 2-1-1 on the season, while the loss drops the Red Devils to 0-4.
Lake Placid opened the season with a 3-2 loss against Sebring, blowing a 2-0 halftime lead. Since then, the Green Dragons have worked through the ups and downs, to become a cohesive unit, communicating well with each other and using crisp passes to set up their goal scorers.

"I think we are working really well as a team lately," Resendiz said. "It was a rocky start for us [against Sebring], but we're finally coming together as a team."

Green Dragon coach Liz Sottile believes her team is finally starting to turn the corner as far as team unity.

"It isn't just one player, but the whole team is playing better," Sottile said. "This was an excellent win for us. These girls have so much potential and I think they are finally starting to reach that potential.

"What we learned [from the Sebring loss] was that we need to play a whole game. We can't just play one half, get a lead and coast. That kind of play won't cut it."

Avon Park is going through its share of growing pains in the early going this season, with several girls on the sidelines.

"We lost some girls to injury and I brought some up from the JV ranks," AP head coach Greg Thacker said. "The girls are still learning to play together and this will give those junior varsity players some valuable experience."

In street clothes was midfielder Caitlyn Lowrie, who injured her knee during the match against Sebring last Thursday. Her status is day-to-day. Lowrie, paired with her twin sister Ciara, have made a good combo in the middle for the Red Devils so far this season.

One of the call-ups for AP was goalie Brittanie Calhoun, who was strikingly good, showing poise in the net, stopping eight straight shots, including a penalty kick by Lake Placid's Ali Lopez in the first half.

LP was finally able to get past Calhoun's wall, when Resendiz hit a rebound to the empty left side of the net late in the first half.

Moments later, Resendiz scored again on a one-timer from Lopez for a 2-0 lead at the half.

The Green Dragon defense stepped up the pressure against the Red Devils, holding Avon Park to just five shots on goal for the game. Red Devil senior Julie Lamb had two of the shots for Avon Park, both were stopped by sliding saves by LP to hold the host team scoreless.

Lake Placid increased its lead in the second half on pair of goals by Terrones and on her second penalty kick of the game, Lopez blasted a shot in the upper-left corner for the score.

The Green Dragons are back in action on Nov. 19 when they host Port Charlotte, while Avon Park played Hardee on Tuesday. Results from the game were not available at press time.

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