A Downright Offensive Opening

Amanda Grimaldo and Buck Schroeder have a lot on their plates.

As soccer season kicked off Tuesday night, Grimaldo, a sophomore, and Schroeder, a junior, watched from the sidelines as their teammates opened the season on Firemen's Field with district matches against rival Hardee.

And though neither started, both certainly made the most of their limited time on the field: Grimaldo scored six goals -all in the second half -to lead the Sebring girls to a 7-3 victory over Hardee, while Schroeder came off the bench to score twice before leaving with an injury in a 4-0 Blue Streaks boys' victory over the Wildcats.

Grimaldo, also a star shortstop on the Sebring softball team, is following through on a travel softball team commitment and missed practice time, according to coach Steve Ashley. Other players who'd been at every practice, he said, earned the start.

"I've had a lot of kids who've been able to come every night and practice," Ashley said. "So I saved Grimaldo mainly for the second half."

Coming off the bench didn't seem to bother Grimaldo.

Just 15 seconds into the second half of a 1-1 tie (and her season), Grimaldo raced past the Hardee defense and caught up to a long pass from senior midfielder Lisa Pryzchocki, slamming it in the back of the net to give Sebring a 2-1 lead.

But Grimaldo was far from done: She scored five more times, including three times during a four-minute stretch that broke a 2-2 stalemate and put the game out of reach.

"Amanda's just a tremendous all-around athlete," Ashley said, "whether she's on the softball field or the soccer field.

"I think we kind of caught them flat-footed at the end of the match, but we played well from the back to front."

It was much the same story for Schroeder, who missed some soccer practice time last week to attend to his kicking duties on the Blue Streak football team.

"I adapt pretty quick," said Schroeder, who scored goals in the 12th and 27th minutes and set up a penalty kick goal by senior Gilberto Santos when he was taken down in the box in the 63rd minute. "I've been practicing both soccer and football and I've run with the soccer team in the morning and at my house."

Sebring coach Tim Boulay said he was happy with team's performance, especially on the defensive end where the Streaks pestered the Wildcat offense and Sebring keeper Ryan Cochran had seven saves.

"The defense is definitely a carry-over from the past couple of years," Boulay said. "I've actually moved some defenders up and that's really helped solidify our midfield."

After Santos drilled the PK, the senior added another goal a minute later on a chip shot from 35 yards out that fooled the Hardee keeper, sailing over his head and into the left corner of the net.

"We've been working on the top corners," Boulay said. "So it was nice to see Santos put one up there."

The Sebring defense took over from there, holding Hardee at bay to put up the Streaks' first district win.

"It was nice for the defense to get its first shutout," said senior sweeper Austin Brady. "Communication was big: We really don't know each other until we play, and we all showed we have good chemistry and we worked well with the keeper.

"Coach has been running us with two-a-days the past week, so it was nice to see all the hard work's paying off."

Boulay agreed.

"It's a good, quick start for us," he said. "I usually try to pad my schedule with non-district opponents the first couple of games, so I was concerned tonight.

"But I think we showed we're district champs from last year, and we're going to come out hard."

Ashley, who also got a goal out of junior Karrie Lester early in the game, said seniors Lisa Pryzchocki and Ricki Albritton did a fine job controlling the midfield, which paid off for the rest of the team.

"It takes pressure off the defenders and keeper when they control like they did," Ashley said. "We kind of wore them out, and I'm pleased. But Braden River is strong, and we're going to have our work cut out for us."

Both teams welcome the Pirates tonight for another district match. The girls kick off at 6 p.m., while the boys get started at 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday's Prep Soccer Scores

Girls: Sebring 7, Hardee 3

Boys: Sebring 4, Hardee 0

TODAY'S GAMES

Sebring girls vs. Braden River, 6 p.m.

Sebring boys vs. Braden River, 7:30 p.m.

NEXT UP

Nov. 20: Sebring girls at Palmetto, 6 p.m.

Nov. 20: Sebring boys at Palmetto, 8 p.m.