Bears Get Bounced

NEW PORT RICHEY - For over 62 minutes Wednesday night, Central High and River Ridge High found themselves in a deadlock expected in a match of such magnitude.
The clubs met in a Class 5A, District 7 semifinal at the Jim Valentine Athletic Complex, each with a chance to earn a rare regional berth.
The second-seeded Bears hadn't advanced beyond districts since 2002; the tournament host Royal Knights, seeded third, hadn't accomplished that feat since 2000.
This game seemed destined for overtime, until River Ridge scratched out two late goals, earning that state playoff bid and advancing to the 5A-7 title game versus Land O' Lakes behind a 2-0 victory.
"River Ridge had a better night," Central Head Coach Hank Deslaurier said. "We congratulate them for playing well. Sometimes you don't have your best night. Tonight they did. I wish them well. I'd like to see them beat Land O' Lakes."

Panetta strikes

Junior Vinny Panetta had a hand in both goals for the Knights (8-9-3), who went 0-1-1 in the regular season versus the Bears (13-8-1).
In the 63rd minute, a cross off the foot of Blake Monaghan found Panetta. He kicked the ball across the goalmouth, past Central keeper Kyle Beach and into the left side of the net.
Seven minutes later, Panetta's free kick from the far sideline landed near the net, where Seth Wade put it between the pipes to double the lead.
"We came in, I didn't let on to the guys, but I liked our prospects about this game," River Ridge Head Coach Michael McHugh said. "We did play them tough. It was a 50/50 game. It could have gone either way.
"We prepared for this game. We knew the mistakes we made (in the regular season meetings) and we tried to correct them. Being healthy also helped. This is the first time we've had a full line-up since game number two.
"My players really bought into the system that we put in place defensively. It's team defense. We did this against Pasco. They scored one goal. That's the way we played. We've kind of got a roll going."
Prior to that late surge, River Ridge had failed to get a ball past the 6-foot-8 Beach, despite mostly dominating possession. Beach notched five saves in the first half, and seven for the game.
Central's best chance came with 13 minutes remaining in the opening stanza. Christian Velasquez hit the left post, and Knights keeper Eric Karcinski saved Will Anderson's shot on the rebound.
Karcinski made a nice leaping save of a long kick by John Anderson in the final two minutes of the second half. By that point, though, River Ridge had gained control.
"They're a good team, a gutty team," Deslaurier said. "We had three tough battles with them. They had a better night tonight."

RIVER RIDGE 2, CENTRAL 0
RR 0 2 - 2
CEN 0 0 - 0

Goals - Panetta, Wade (RR).
Assists - Monaghan, Panetta (RR).
Shots - RR 9, CEN 6.
Saves - RR: Karcinski 4; CEN: Beach 7.
Blue cards - none.
Yellow cards - Bock (CEN).
Red cards - none.
Records - River Ridge (8-9-3), Central (13-8-1).