Warriors silence Lions, 3-0

Hernando Christian Academy's season closed quietly Monday night in Pasco County.
Without much fight - and without much offense (one shot on goal) - the fifth seeded Lions (2-9-3) were eliminated by fourth seeded Clearwater-Calvary Christian (8-8-3) in the Class 2A, District 9 quarterfinals at Bishop McLaughlin catholic High School, 3-0.
HCA, which has gone one and done in the playoffs the past three seasons, never put up much an effort against the Warriors.
The Pinellas County squad, which was missing six starters in Jan. 7's initial clash against HCA, still won 4-1.
This time, second-year Head Coach Rollin Mohler's crew dominated play on both ends of the pitch. Calvary Christian flexed its dominance out-shooting HCA, 14-1.
The match could have been a rout as the Warriors misfired on their first seven shots against Lion goalkeeper Connor Yann.
At 32:00 minutes, Calvary Christian finally dented the scoreboard as a long through ball by Blake Kennedy found Ryan Peters, who rammed it home, 1-0 Warriors.
HCA's only shot on goal arrived with two minutes remaining as Adrian Kussmaul's 10-yard shot was gobbled up by Calvary Christian's backup keeper Jordan Ankrom. Ankrom was between the pipes only because starting keeper Johnny Hubbard was not present.
Four minutes into the second half, the Warriors doubled their pleasure as Karl Swaine connected with Trent Trask, 2-0.
Four minutes later, Swaine was fouled in the scoring box leading to a penalty kick from 12 yards out.
But to Swaine's chagrin, he pushed his shot wide of the near post.
At 56:00 minutes, Calvary Christian added an insurance goal as Trask fed Kyle Kindt, who scored as Yann muffed the ball, 3-0.
The Warriors' reward for winning Monday is a semifinal clash Tuesday against top seeded Tampa Prep. The Terrapins have captured 3-of-4 state championships.
"Today was only my seventh match with the team," explained the 17-year-old Trask, who scored his fourth goal of the season. "Tomorrow we'll have to play our best. We're looking to move on."
How did Swaine handle missing a point-blank penalty kick?
"Missing the PK hurts; I usually put 'em right in. I kinda pushed it a little bit," revealed the 17-year-old Swaine.
What about Tuesday's match?
"We've got to be a lot better tomorrow against Tampa Prep," said Swaine. "As a whole, we can play much better. Today, we kinda relaxed a little bit."
Coach Mohler, who took over the reigns of the team midway through last year, was asked to evaluate his club.
"We played well, but we struggled finishing the ball. We played mediocre," said Mohler. "Tomorrow is a whole different ballgame. Today we knew we could play offensively," he stated. "Tomorrow, we've got to concentrate on the defensive end."

Clearwater-Calvary Christian 3, HCA 0
HCA 0 0 - 0
CC 1 2 - 3
Goals - CC: Peters, Trask, Kindt.
Assists - CC: Kennedy, Swaine, Trask.
Shots on goal - CC: 14; HCA: 1.
Saves - CC: Ankkrom 1; HCA: Yann 3.
Yellow Cards - none.
Blue Cards - none.
Red Cards - none.
Records: Hernando Christian Academy (2-9-3), Clearwater-Calvary Christian (8-8-2).

Class 2A-9 Tournament Recap
01-25:
Bishop McLaughlin 4, Academy at the Lakes 0
Clearwater-Calvary Christian 3, HCA 0