Local Sports
Bulldogs hold off Green Dragons
Mark Pinson | Highlands Today
Published: January 20, 2013
LAKE PLACID - Frostproof's Amanda Robillard scored the only goal late in the first half, and the Bulldogs made it stand up for a hard-fought 1-0 win over Lake Placid in the Class 2A-District 10 soccer finals on Friday night at Roger Scarborough Memorial Field.Published: January 20, 2013
"I think we played excellent for being such a young team," said Lake Placid girls soccer coach John Merlo. "Frostproof is a talented team and we played them tough the entire match. I'm very proud of the girls because they did a great job.
"We missed some scoring opportunities, and the play got a little rough in the second half, which kind of threw us off a little bit."
The hard-fought win improved Frostproof to an impressive 18-0-1 on the season and the Bulldogs will host Clearwater Central Catholic in a regional quarterfinal on Wednesday night.
The loss dropped Lake Placid to 10-4-2 overall and the Green Dragons will play at District 9 champion St. Petersburg Catholic in a regional quarterfinal on Wednesday.
"This is a great experience for our girls," Merlo said. "We only have six seniors and I thought this was going to be a rebuilding year, but the girls have worked hard to improve and we've gotten better with each match."
Lake Placid had several scoring chances in the first half against Frostproof, but the Bulldog defense made no mistakes and cleared the ball away.
Frostproof, with a strong wind at its back, started to apply more pressure as the half progressed and took advantage of a corner kick to get on the scoreboard.
Robillard took the corner kick and managed to rifle a shot into the lower-right corner with 2:18 remaining in the half to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead.
"We made a mistake in our defense on the corner kick," Merlo said. "We left the wrong player unguarded and she put the ball in the back of the net."
Lake Placid took advantage of the wind in the second half to attack the Frostproof goal, but the Bulldogs, with the slim lead, dropped more players back on defense, and the plan worked, as repeated Green Dragon passes were turned away.
With less than five minutes remaining in the match, Lake Placid upped its intensity and had numerous shots on goal, but the Bulldog defense was up to the task and preserved their tenuous lead.
Time finally ran out on the Green Dragon comeback as Frostproof, the No. 1 seed, claimed the district title.
"We played hard but we just couldn't get a shot to go in," Merlo said. "Frostproof put up a wall on defense in the second half and that's what I would have done. They're a quality team, well coached and I wish them the best of luck in the playoffs."
Lake Placid will have its hands full in Wednesday's regional quarterfinal, taking on St. Petersburg Catholic on the road.
"We're going to work on some different formations for Wednesday's match," Merlo said. "We're on the road and it may be a David vs. Goliath situation, but you never know what can happen when you step on the field. Those kinds of wins happen and we've played a tough schedule and can compete with any team when we play up to our capability."