Zullo Deposits 4 Goals As Cobras Halt HHS, 8-0

BROOKSVILLE - When a team is a heavy underdog in soccer, there are several approaches on how to play against them.

One idea is to pull your team into a tight defensive shell around the goal, try and keep the score tight until the second half, maybe score a goal on a counter-attack or a penalty kick, and then hold on tight until the end.

That, in theory, was what first-year Hernando High Head Coach Neil Riddle was hoping to do when his Hernando Leopards faced top-seeded Hudson in the quarter-finals of the Class 4A-8 tournament Tuesday night at Nature Coast Technical High School.

The problem was that Hudson had too many weapons and is much more talented than the Leopards.

As a result, the Cobras expanded their 2-0 halftime lead by exploding for six second-half goals in a match shortened by the mercy rule, 8-0.

"That's what we were trying to do. Play defense in the first half, and then maybe get a goal on a counter or a lucky bounce. But Hudson is a much better technical team than we are," said Riddle following his team's 16th shutout.

Lindsay Zullo scored four goals for the Cobras Tuesday night as the top seed advanced into the semifinals.

Hudson scored just two goals in the first half as the 17-3-2 Cobras jumped in front in the opening 11 minutes of the game.

Zullo scored her first goal four minutes into the contest on assists from Alicia Schuering and ex-Shark Brittany Maniatis and then scored a second goal on a penalty kick 11 minutes into the first half.

But that was all the scoring Hudson could get before opening the flood-gates in the second half. Zullo scored two more goals for the Cobras while Maniatis added two more while Audrey Collins and Melissa Wysong each got a goal that ended the game with 7:30 left in the second half.

Three-peat

Hudson, who had beaten Hernando by scores of 8-0 and 5-0 during the regular season, completely dominated the play. The Cobras out shot Hernando 30-1 as the Leopards barely got the ball into the Cobra penalty box at all during the game.

"It took us a little while to get started, but in the second half we were much more aggressive," said Hudson's second-year Head Coach Christine Rizzieri.

"It was nice to get a win tonight," added Rizzieri. "But we still have to get by the semifinal Thursday against either Nature Coast or Gulf before we can start thinking about the final."

For Hernando, it ended up at 4-17-2 after winning its opening-round match Monday against Sunlake, 5-1.