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Highlands Today

Talented Tigers Topple Devils

Mark Pinson/Highlands Today

Avon Park midfielder Jerry Felix 2 handles the ball as Palmetto's Jose Martinez defends during the first half of Thursday night's Class 4A-District 10 match at Joe Franza Stadium.

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By MARK PINSON

Highlands Today

Published: December 20, 2008

AVON PARK - Taking on the best team in the district is a tough way to start your holiday break.

The Avon Park girls soccer team found that out the hard way as a finely-tuned and skilled Palmetto squad used a balanced offense and a stifling defense to blank the Red Devils 8-0 on Thursday night at Joe Franza Stadium.

The Class 4A-District 10 win improved the Tigers to 10-3-1 overall and a district-best 8-1.

"We've got a nice blend of experience and youth with five seniors, five juniors and five sophomores on our team," said Palmetto coach Matt Foy. "We moved the ball well and made some solid passes to set up our goals.

"Most of our girls have played club soccer for years and their skill level allows us to do a lot of different things on the field."

Avon Park, which played hard the entire match, is still working on the fundamentals of the game and played well in spurts, especially in the second half.

"I'm proud of the girls because they did the best they could against a very talented Palmetto team," said Red Devil coach Jocelyn Simplice. "Palmetto passed and moved the ball well and we had a hard time defending their attack,

"Our girls are still learning and developing their skills and we did a much better job of working the ball up the field in the second half."

Palmetto used its quickness, skill and passing to pressure Avon Park keeper Jacque Yanez with several shots to open the contest.

Yanez, which saved 10 shots on the night, did her best against the Tigers assault, but Palmetto broke through with a goal by senior midfielder Becca Foy.

Moments later, senior forward Alyssa Webler gained control of a corner kick in front of the goal and rifled a shot into the back of the net for a 2-0 lead 10 minutes into the match.

Webler, a tall, talented ball-handler, notched her second goal of the match off a through ball to put the Tigers up 3-0 with 18:34 remaining in the first half.

Sophomore midfielder Irene Gallardo got into the scoring frenzy with back-to-back goals and junior forward Sara Shields netted one to give Palmetto a comfortable 6-0 lead at the half.

"Even our freshman and sophomores have played club soccer for a number of years so our talent level doesn't drop that far when we substitute," said Coach Foy. "We played well, but Avon Park is much improved since we played them earlier in the season.

"Coach Simplice knows that to be competitive in soccer you have to develop the talent at a young age as you do in any sport and he is working to try and do that."

Avon Park was more aggressive and had several shots on goal in the second half, but Palmetto scored a pair of goals, including the final tally by Foy, her second of the night, to end the match midway through the second half.

"We got ourselves together and played much better in the second half," said Simplice. "We are working hard to improve and we'll keep doing our best when we come back after the holiday break."

BOYS SOCCER: Palmetto 9, Avon Park 1

Palmetto got two goals each from senior forward Robert Stephenson, senior midfielder Michael Martinez and junior Jose Martinez en route to a 9-1 win over Avon Park in boys soccer on Thursday night at Joe Franza Stadium.

The victory improved the Tigers to 12-0-1 and 6-0.

"We weren't at full strength and we mixed some people up and still had a solid effort," said Palmetto coach Dustin Dahlquist. "But Avon Park played hard and scored a goal.

"They are young, but much improved from when we played them earlier this year."

The Tigers jumped out to a quick lead when Stephenson netted a goal in the opening minutes and Kyle Grimes scored off a corner kick moments later.

Stephenson drilled home another shot and Martinez added a pair of goals to give Palmetto a 5-0 lead at the half.

Avon Park answered with a goal by Ryan Tracey to open the second half, but the Tigers reeled off four goals to end the match.

"We have seven seniors with lots of experience and we're off to a good start this season," said Dahlquist. "We have a chance to have a good season, but there are some tough teams in the district like Braden River, DeSoto and Sebring and we can't take anything for granted because there's a lot of soccer left to play."

Mark Pinson can be reached at 863-386-5837 or mpinson@highlandstoday.com.

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