After lengthy break, Streaks 'flat' in loss

Liberty encountered very little resistance and promptly spent much of its evening in Sebring's defensive zone - and that, of course, has its repercussions.

Liberty scored two goals in the first eight minutes of the second half, pulling away for a 3-0 win over the Blue Streaks on Monday night at Firemen's Field.

Coming off a 10-day break, Sebring looked lethargic in allowing Liberty to capture its second win in seven tries this season.

"Players were looking past this team, and that's why you don't tell people your record, because on any given day, anything can happen," Sebring boys soccer coach Tim Boulay said.

Liberty peppered Sebring goalkeeper Jesse Ouverson with 15 shots. The Blue Streaks, by way of comparison, managed just eight shots, the majority of which came in the second half with the outcome no longer in doubt.

Sebring trailed 1-0 at halftime, but Liberty netted goals in the 45th and 48th minutes, jumping out to an insurmountable lead that the Blue Streaks never threatened.

"What can you do?" Boulay said. "You need to be mentally ready to play, otherwise this can happen."

Much to Boulay's chagrin, the Blue Streaks are in the midst of a four-match week (two district, two non-district) - all coming after a lengthy layoff for Thanksgiving vacation.

"We just came out flat," he said. "How can you mentally be here? It's hard, mentally. But we've got to be ready to play."

Sebring held tight for the first 15 minutes, until Andrew Andrade tapped a missed shot into a wide-open net, giving the fleet-footed Chargers a 1-0 lead.

The Blue Streaks then put four shots on goal, their best chances two well-struck free kicks by Cody Watson that curved just wide of the goal.

Sebring, despite being on the wrong side of the scoreboard, apparently liked its odds at halftime. In the team huddle before the second half began, one player shouted, "Now you play like you want to win this. I'm sick of this."

The heightened intensity didn't pay off.

In the 45th minute, Mario Nieto sped upfield, cut toward the center of the field and lofted a perfect shot over Ouverson's head for a 2-0 lead. And three minutes later, Junior Williams took a similar route and blasted a shot through the goalkeeper's legs.

"We didn't do anything right," Boulay said. "We showed up."

Asked if he took anything positive from the loss, Boulay quipped: "Yeah, we can put it behind us."

Indeed, they can. The Blue Streaks played Lake Placid in an intriguing non-district game on Tuesday, before returning home for a match against Haines City on Thursday.