Sebring freezes AP, notches 6th victory

Falling away from the goal, with the outcome no longer in doubt, Sebring senior Octavio Galvan unloaded a shot from the right corner. It was a rising screamer, a catch-it-if-you-can kick, on a direct path to Avon Park goalkeeper Marcos Garcia.

The ball sailed like a bowling ball. Garcia's hands felt like slabs of cement.

And on a night when seemingly anything could happen - did the wind chill really dip below 30 degrees here? - pretty much everything did.

Galvan's shot inexplicably found the back of the net, Avon Park's scoreless streak continued and Sebring rolled to a 5-0 win on Monday night in front of a sparse, bundled-up crowd at Firemen's Field.

"The kids played pretty well," Sebring coach Tim Boulay said. "We've got a passing game, a speed game, and when we stay on a sheet of music, we're pretty good."

There was nothing melodic about this chilled contest, in which players wore knit caps and mittens and heavy, long-sleeve shirts in an attempt to stay warm. The good news: The Blue Streaks spent plenty of time huddling. They, of course, needed to celebrate each of their five goals in a lopsided non-district match.

Buck Schroeder scored twice, Galvan had two goals and Cody Watson added another for the Blue Streaks, who improved to 6-7-1 before playing Okeechobee on Tuesday.

Avon Park, meanwhile, nearly broke its yearlong streak without a goal in the final seconds, when Robert Bieber shook loose for a breakaway. Alas, his last-second shot sailed wide left as he collapsed to the ground in exasperation.

"We're close," Red Devils coach Timothy Saenz said. "It took us a while to get on track, but when we finally did, we broke free. It's just a matter of finishing."

Sebring sealed this one in the first 5 minutes.

Schroeder scored in the fifth minute, and Watson netted a goal off a deflection in the 33rd minute, when his shot caromed off Garcia's shin guard and dribbled into the net.

Staked to that 2-0 lead at the half, the Blue Streaks rotated in several players - including their freshman goalkeeper, Ethan Smith - but Schroeder scored on a tight, twisting free kick in the 48th minute.

Despite allowing five goals, Garcia played well in net - at least at times, Saenz said.

"He gets caught up in the emotion of the moment sometimes, but he's got a lot of raw talent," Saenz said of Garcia, who, during various points of the match Monday, landed squarely on the ball, was nearly kicked in the face, flopped to turn away a would-be goal and leapt to miraculously save another attempt.

The strangest goal came from Galvan, who turned away when his shot from the corner, he assumed, had no chance. He lowered his head and took a few steps back downfield, only to swing around and see Garcia pounding the ground in disgust.

Sure enough, Galvan had scored. So he lifted his arms in triumph as his teammates drew near. Less than 10 minutes later he netted another goal, when his well-placed kick landed in the left side of the net for the 5-0 advantage.

"These kinds of games, one goal can change a team," Boulay said. "And when it's Avon Park and Sebring, it really doesn't matter if you're 0-12. The records are thrown out the window."

Avon Park will look for its first win of the season Thursday at Frostproof, which mercy-ruled the Red Devils during their first meeting in November.

"The seniors say that they haven't won an official game in at least four years," Saenz said, "and I want to help them get it."

Schroeder's second-half goal the difference

At Sebring, freshman Heather Bloemsma's penalty kick in the 51st minute gave the Sebring girls soccer team a 1-0 win over Avon Park on Monday night at Firemen's Field.

Bloemsma's goal, her third of the season, sent the Blue Streaks (2-8-2) to their second straight win.

"We got a lucky break and got the penalty kick," Sebring coach Steve Ashley said, "and we took advantage of it. Coming off a two-week break, I'm pleased. It's nice to have a win and maybe we can keep it going."