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'Start off hard; finish hard'

BOYS SOCCER

Photo by JOE DiCRISTOFALO

GAME WINNER - Springstead High senior striker Terry Wald (9) taps in a 3-yard shot following a gorgeous diagonal pass across the goal mouth by Chris Sarabalis, which Newsome freshman goalkeeper Zech Webb missed.

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By TONY CASTRO SPORTS EDITOR

Hernando Today

Published: December 28, 2009

NEW PORT RICHEY - F.W. Springstead picked the right time to up its game during Monday night's opening-round match against Lithia-Newsome.
The Class 5A-8 Newsome Wolves opened their season with a heart-breaking 2-1 setback to always-tough Tampa-Gaither.
Since that point, Head Coach Neal Rickmers' club responded by not dropping another match. That was, until Monday.
The Wolves entered the three-day, 8-team, 9th annual Ridgewood Ram Holiday Classic Boys Soccer Tournament on a nine-match roll.
Newsome, which was 7-0-2 since losing to Gaither, also had plenty of motivation.
In the same spot last year, the Wolves were caged by Springstead, 4-1.
This time, despite out-shooting the Eagles, 12-8, Springstead edged Newsome in a fine, evenly played match, 1-0.
With the win, the Eagles (10-4-0) advance in the winner's bracket to face Tallahassee-Leon at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Booster Stadium in West Pasco County.
For its part, Leon opened the tourney by blanking the host Ridgewood Rams, 3-0.

Eagles' recipe for a win

Springstead pocketed its fourth straight win (all shutouts) – tying its season's best stretch – behind a stingy defense and an opportunistic offense.
The game's lone score came on first-year player error.
The Wolves' goalkeeper, freshman Zech Webb – in his first-ever varsity start – dove and whiffed at a gorgeous diagonal pass across the goal mouth by senior midfielder Chris Sarabalis. It was such a precise pass, that as Webb missed, senior Terry Wald simply tapped home a 3-yard attempt at 27:00 minutes, 1-0 Eagles.
Wald, who leads the Eagles with eight goals, missed a wide-open opportunity 10 minutes into the second half.
Meanwhile, Newsome (7-2-2) misfired on four point-blank shots as Springstead junior goalkeeper Joel Lasala notched five saves.
"I thought our defense was brilliant," chimed Eagle defender Gerry DeCristofaro. "Our midfielders and our forwards helped our guys in the back. It really was a great team effort."
What's the key on defense?
"Communication is such an important part of the game," replied the 16-year-old DeCristofaro. "Maybe it's the number one reason we won."
What about the game's only score?
"Give Chris (Sarabalis) credit," said DeCristofaro. "That was one of the best crosses I've ever seen."
Wald echoed DeCristofaro's sentiments.
"Listen, I couldn't have asked for a better ball than the one Chris gave me," recalled the 17-year-old Wald. "When the keeper missed the ball, it came right to me."
How pivotal was the opening-round triumph?
"The win is the biggest thing we all wanted," shared Wald. "We want this (championship) together."
Sarabalis, who hadn't notched an assist since his sophomore year, credited Wald's aggressiveness.
"It's all in the motion," recalled the 18-year-old Sarabalis. "Terry is a very aggressive player, who is always looking to score. It was natural for me, to just play the ball to him."
How big was the win?
"We knew we wanted to start off with a win," declared Sarabalis. "Hopefully, the spirit will continue to carry us. We have a saying, 'Start off hard; finish hard.' We did that tonight."

Coaches' chatter

Springstead Head Coach Sal Calabrese was encouraged with his team's overall performance.
"I told the kids to be ready in the second half, that they'd make some changes and would raise their intensity and they did," Calabrese said. "Our communication could be better.
"Digging balls out was the difference tonight," added Calabrese. "It gave us balance in the back."
What about Wald's game-winner?
"Chris (Sarabalis) won a ball, peaked and put a nice pass on Terry's foot," said Calabrese. "The goal was a great soft touch."
How crucial was the win?
"My hat goes off to Newsome, they're a good side," explained Calabrese. "They're the best team we've played all season, including Forest. We looked a little rusty. But the first win gives us momentum heading into tomorrow."
From the opposite sideline Coach Rickmers was not disappointed in the least with his team's efforts.
"A lot of our kids played in the Sun Bowl. Some have played 4-5 matches over the past few days," said Rickmers. "We should have won this game. Every header, instead of going into the corner, went right to their keeper.
"Our guys know, they're (Springstead) a good side. It was a great match," described Rickmers. "We played them much better than we did last year. We used a lot of energy. Our guys got tired. You could tell we lost our legs in the second half. But I can't complain, we had something like six solid chances to score and we didn't. Oh, well. We'll be back tomorrow and see what happens."

Ridgewood Ram Holiday Classic Results:
12-28:
Clearwater def. Tampa-Spoto, 6-2.
Tampa-Alonso def. St. Petersburg Catholic, 6-2.
Tallahassee-Leon def. Ridgewood, 3-0.

Springstead 1, Lithia-Newsome 0
SPG 1 0 — 1
NEW 0 0 — 0
Goals – SPG: Wald.
Assists – SPG: Sarabalis.
Shots on goal – SPG: 8; NEW: 12.
Saves – SPG: Lasala 5; NEW: Webb 4.
Yellow Cards – none.
Blue Cards – none.
Red Cards – none.
Records: Springstead (10-4-0 overall), Lithia-Newsome (7-2-2).

Sports Editor Tony Castro can be reached at 352-544-5278 or online at acastro@hernandotoday.com.

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