Sebring Soars Past Lake Placid

Sophomore Derek Drummond saw a rebound bounce to him just outside the goalie box and the Sebring fullback booted a high, arching shot that found the upper-right hand corner of the net and sent the Blue Streaks into a frenzy.

"I was shocked and amazed that the shot went in," Drummond said. "I just reacted to the ball and tried to kick it over the defense, but it somehow found the back of the net."

The goal - Sebring's second of the evening - would prove to be the game winner, as the Streaks withstood the physical play on the road to defeat cross-county rival Lake Placid 2-1 in the Green Dragons' season opener at Roger Scarborough Memorial Stadium on Monday.

Drummond's goal, which came during injury time, capped off an aggressive night for Sebring's offense, which pelted Lake Placid with 16 shots-on-goal compared to the Green Dragons eight, but it was the physical play on both sides that determined the game's outcome.

"Lake Placid played a lot harder than we anticipated tonight," Sebring senior midfielder Jazan Jimenez said. "They played more aggressive than they did last year, but we just matched their intensity.

"It was hard in the first half to find our rhythm, but in the second half we made some adjustments. Lake Placid kept crowding our players, so we were able to kick the ball out to the open man and we worked well in the open space and continued to be first to the ball."

The chilly temperatures didn't slow down either team, as the physical tone of the game was set from the onset, when Jimenenz and Santiago Herrera were tangled near midfield as they both battled for the ball.

Sebring coach Tim Boulay was pleased with the rough style of play Monday, in lieu of the Streaks' upcoming district game against Palmetto on Thursday.

"We were a little off tonight," Boulay said. "We didn't communicate or pass as well as I would've liked, but our defense has been super so far this season. We just have to tweak a few areas and I think we'll be in good shape for the season.

"I liked the physical game that Lake Placid gave us tonight, which can only help us against Palmetto, who plays a very physical style of soccer."

With the score tied, Sebring senior forward Washley Jean split the Lake Placid defense and blasted a shot into the goal at the 58-minute mark with teammates surrounding him in congratulations.

The key to the goal was the excellent passing by Elisha Klatt and Troy Lambert that found Washley in front of the net.

Before Washley's goal, Sebring and Lake Placid had good looks and open shots to score, but most of the kicks were off their target.

Lake Placid co-captain Antonio Torres did a nice job orchestrating the Green Dragon offense and put his players in the position to score on numerous occasions, but the Streaks defense came up huge when called upon.

Green Dragon head coach Josh Virkler said his team was "overmatched" when they faced the savvy Blue Streak squad last year, but have improved tremendously during training camp and are poised to continue their maturation process.

"What I saw out there tonight was a team that wasn't intimidated," Virkler said. "We were very aggressive and we didn't play timid at all like we did so many times last year. We just need to take care of the ball better and continue to be aggressive to the goal. Good things can only happen."

With seconds left to go in the game, Lake Placid freshman Jorge Medina tipped a shot over Blue Streak goalie Ryan Cochran to avoid the shutout.

Cochran had a solid game in goal, making eight saves, while teammate Cody Watson led the way with five shots and Buck Schroeder and Drummond had three shots-on-goal in the win.

Lake Placid is back on the field Friday when they host district foe Mulberry, while Sebring travels to face Palmetto on Thursday. Kick-off for both games is set for 7:30 p.m.