RSL Florida Ties State Cup Record

By NICHOLAS J.E. MURRAY The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 3, 2008

RSL Florida tied a Florida Youth Soccer Association State Cup record Sunday, becoming only the fourth club in the tournament's history to advance eight teams into the final four of the competition.

The last club to achieve such a feat was Team Boca from Boca Raton, which did it two seasons ago. Prior to that, the Clearwater Chargers and Black Watch Soccer Club were the only other clubs to accomplish the feat. RSL girls director of coaching Jim Cote said he thought the extra training sessions the players put in were the difference in the results during the weekend.

"We asked them to do some things that were a little out of the ordinary," Cote said. "Train an extra day, put in an extra day of technical training, and another hour of fitness in a week and quite honestly after the games the girls were like, 'Thank God for Thursdays,' because Thursday was the extra day they had to train, and the games were won really at the end of the match."

The RSL under-18s' 1-0 win against Cutler Ridge SC came in overtime, and there were other games like the under-13s' 1-0 win against West Pines United and the under-14s' 3-2 win against Weston that came late in the game.

Three of the RSL boys teams also advanced to the final four, including the under-18 team that is aiming for its fourth state title in five seasons. RSL advanced through to the final four with a 3-2 win against local rival Strictly Soccer.

RSL could break the state record if its girls under-19 team advances to the final four Sunday. But while the club is proud of what it has achieved, Cote said the coaches are happier for the players who get to continue playing for a state title.

"For us, it'll be important to RSL, obviously," Cote said. "We're more happy for the players than the records. It's not about the record to me, it's about the players who've come in and continued to work their tails off."

Local High Schools Win State Rowing Titles

TAMPA - The smile on Tampa Prep varsity 4 stroke Kate Biladeau's face summed up the weekend for her teammates, and those from other local crews. With two new members and a new cox, the Terrapins' crew of Biladeau, Colyer Sigety, Jess Mine and Lydia Sunderland and cox Megan Kelly edged out Pine Crest and Jacksonville Bolles to win the scholastic state title.

"It's incredible," Biladeau said. "Last year we didn't even make it to [the consolation final], and we have a brand new coach and we just stepped it up this season. No one thought we could do anything, and this group turned it around completely."

Tampa Prep and Plant each won two state titles apiece, the Terrapins' second coming in the girls lightweight 4 and the Panthers' coming in the girls junior varsity 8 and third varsity 8. Hillsborough's Katie Burke won the single sculls title, adding to what has been a very successful first season in the event for her.

Burke said she enjoyed the difference that being an individual brought from rowing as part of a crew.

"It's fun, obviously, in 8s and 4s because you have your teammates with you pushing," Burke said. "But it's different in a single, it's all up to you, all on you."

As well as winning two state titles, Plant also advanced five boats to the Scholastic National Championships. The Panthers girls will send the varsity, junior varsity and freshman 8 to Oak Ridge, Tenn., later this month, while the boys crew will send the varsity 8 and freshman 8. Despite their youth, the Panthers have been able to maintain their position in the local ranks, and finished second overall in the scholastic team competition.

"Even if they're young you put them in a situation, and they gain experience," Plant boys coach Matt Abel said. "We don't put them in situations for which they're not ready, but even if they're young we say, 'Hey, you've got to go race, and learn and keep the big picture in perspective, which is that you're sophomores and juniors, so go out and have a great regatta here, go really fast, and think about the big picture next year and the year after that.'"

Plant Loses In OT In State Lacrosse Final

The Plant lacrosse team was one goal away from a second state title Saturday night. Entering overtime, the Panthers had come back to tie the game after overcoming a two-goal deficit in the fourth quarter.

But then Palm Beach Gardens' Joey Bauer found the space in the offensive zone to give the Gators their first state title with a 9-8 win.

Plant got four goals from Garrett German, and led 4-1 during the second quarter, but a burst of three goals in 65 seconds, including two by John Slate, gave the Gators momentum they used to take a 7-5 lead into the fourth quarter.

"[Palm Beach Gardens] is much more physically impressive," Plant coach John Shaw said. "They had a lot of great athletes, and we watched them play Friday night, and they liked to run-and-gun a lot, push the ball. We figured the way we had to play it was play our game, get some good long possessions, and try to slow them down, and it almost worked."

While the loss was hard for the Panthers to take, Shaw was proud of their effort in what was a breathtaking game for him.

"It was tough," Shaw said. "It was probably, and I'm not kidding, the best lacrosse game I've ever seen in my life. Both teams fought real hard, and when you come to sudden-death overtime, a little bit of luck can be involved, but it could have gone either way."

Nicholas J.E. Murray can be reached at (813) 259-8243 or nmurray@tampatrib.com. Keyword: Youth Sports for more news, notes and live game coverage.