Eagles: a terrible 24 hours

In less than 24 hours, F.W. Springstead's boys soccer season went from bad to worse.
Before Monday, it didn't start off that way.
Last Friday, Ridgewood knocked in an own goal to allow the Eagles to escape with a 1-0 win and improve to 4-0.
Then came pivotal back-to-back matches on Monday night at Tampa Catholic in Hillsborough County and Tuesday at home against 5A-7 leader Ocala-Forest.
On Monday, the Eagles' win skein was halted thanks to a 3-2 loss to the Crusaders.
On Tuesday, Springstead's 17th-year Head Coach Sal Calabrese received additional bad news.
Captain Steve Sullivan in his fourth season with the Eagles and perhaps the county's finest defender - besides being a three-time county weightlifting champion - suffered a broken bone in his left foot.
The prognosis? The heart and soul of Springstead's team is expected to miss 6-8 weeks. He may miss the remainder of the season.
In his place, junior Gerry DeCristofaro will have some huge shoes to fill.
That evening, the downward spiral continued as the Wildcats posted their fourth shutout in four matches on solo goals by sophomore Matt McQuade and senior Josh Ciambella and a pair of assists by junior Nathan Lopez to hand the Eagles their second straight setback, 2-0.

A silver lining?

Were there any positives Tuesday night?
"At the end of the night we only have two injured boys, not four," confessed Coach Calabrese. "I can't blame Gerry (DeCristofaro), he's stepping into a mighty big slot in our defense. He's got huge shoes to fill. I thought our keepers (Nick Allegra in the first half and Joey Lasala in the second) we're both strong. They kept us in the match (with seven combined saves)."
"Does one player make a difference?" queried Coach Calabrese. "It matters when its Sully. I feel horrible for scheduling back-to-back matches. With this weird district alignment I was looking for as many matches as I could get. I take the blame in Sully getting hurt. This was his team; and this was his year. He might never play again for us."
What about Forest?
"They're an unorthodox team," summed up Coach Calabrese. "I'm telling you they're not that good. Sure, they're bigger and a little stronger, but they're not that good. They have no style. They whack the ball and chase it. It's hard to defend that style on a 53-yard wide pitch."

Wildcat prospective

McQuade opened the scoring with five minutes left in the first half on the first of two feeds by Lopez.
"It was a pretty important match," declared the 15-year-old McQuade. "We got our fourth shutout with a jayvee keeper (freshman Daniel Krysalka with two saves) in there. Our first two keepers are injured."
"We can play better," added the 16-year-old Lopez. "We're building some chemistry. Matt gave us a big lift with his goal."
And the stout defense?
"We lost almost everybody from last year's defense," replied Lopez. "We only have two seniors in the back. Everyone else is new. But we've played great team defense. The other team has had a few chances, but that's part of the game."
Second-year Wildcat Head Coach Melvin Valenzuela believed the difference Tuesday night was "we maintained pressure on them the whole match."
How did he evaluate Springstead?
"Even though we won, they're an excellent team," said Coach Valenzuela. "You can tell they're well-coached. I expect a much better match from them the second time we play (Dec. 11)."
How critical was the win?
"I told my kids being in first in a four-team district is important," he recalled. "If you finish first, you play the No. 4 seed in districts, which is a lot easier than No. 2 vs. No. 3. Even though we won, I'd still say the district is up for grabs."

Ocala-Forest 2, Springstead 0
OF 1 1 - 2
SPG 0 0 - 0
Goals - OF: McQuade, Ciambella.
Assists - OF: Lopez (2).
Shots on goal - OF: 13; SPG: 10.
Saves - OF: Krysalka 2; SPG: Allegra 1; Lasala 6.
Yellow Cards - SPG: Hogeland (unsporting behavior); OF: Ciambella (tactical handball).
Blue Cards - none.
Red Cards - none.
Records: Ocala-Forest (4-0-0 overall, 2-0-0 5A-7), Springstead (4-2-0 overall, 1-1-0 5A-7).