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published: Friday, January 04, 2013
Hurricanes notch pair of victories at Hickory Point
Hurricanes notch pair of victories at Hickory Point
Mark Fisher
Special to the Daily Commercial
The Mount Dora Hurricanes (7-7-1) rolled over the Belleview Rattlers 6-0 on Friday morning in the men's consolation bracket of the 17th annual Hickory Point Invitational in Tavares.
Gulf Breeze's girls and boys team won the tournament, becoming the first school in tournament history that one school won both titles in the same year.
Juan Gomez scored early in the contest when he broke free at the top of the box, evaded two defenders and put the ball in net as he crossed in front of Rattler keeper Shy Smoker at the 3-minute mark to give the Canes a 1-0 advantage. Five minutes later, Cane striker Evan Schwalb took a pass from Angel Rodriguez and converted to move the score to 2-0 at the break. Rodriguez also was credited with an assist on the first goal. Gomez finished with a hat trick for the Canes.
The onslaught continued in the second period when Gomez again was able to get a shot off that squirted under the diving Smoker, who landed on the ball but was unable to stop its momentum as it crossed the goal line to put Mount Dora ahead by 3. Smoker was injured on the play and replaced by Rattler defender John Day who would defend for Belleview (5-7-4) for the balance of the game.
Mount Dora scored again when Danny Rodriguez pushed a crossing pass to Angel Rodriguez on a give-and-go play in deep in the box that Angel slipped back to Danny for a 4-0 Hurricane lead.
Juan Rodriguez got into the scoring act late in the game, converting on a drop pass near the goal that caught Day out of position. Juan Gomez scored for the third time just before the final whistle.
LakeBrantley 4 Osceola 1
The Seminole County Lake Brantley Patriots (6-5-2) took down the Osceola Kowboys 4-1 in second-round action in a contest that was tighter than the score indicated.
The Kowboys (9-5-1) were unsaddled by early scores by Tamas Sebestyen and trailed 2-0 midway through the first period. Sebestyen initially scored off a rebound shot by Juan Castano that Osceola goalie Jonatan Cruz defended but could not control to give the Patriots the lead at the 8-minute mark.
In contrast, the Kowboys struggled to find their attack against a tough defense that denied them any good close-in shots.
The answer came from long range, as Austin Richards was able to narrow the score when he scored from some 35 yards out. The Patriots were slow to respond to his position and the ball. Left unattended, Richards was able to set up and launch a strong blast that narrowed the score to 2-1 at the half.
When play resumed, neither team was able to convert the scoring opportunities they crafted and the game remained in doubt until Jordan Ocampo was awarded a penalty kick for a foul in box. He maximized his opportunity, driving a low streaking shot into the far right corner as the keeper guessed wrong and went to his right.
Mount Dora 5 Eustis 1
Mount Dora (8-7-1) advanced to the championship final in the consolation bracket Friday evening with a convincing 5-1 win over Eustis High School.
The Hurricane-Panther clash was a rematch of a contest played the week before Christmas when the Canes eked out a 4-3 win on a late short handed goal. Friday's contest was just as close until the final 10 minutes when the Canes struck for 4 quick goals to turn the game into a sudden rout.
The Panthers (2-9-2) took the lead in the first half at the 8-minute mark when Nathan Hernandez took a pass from Ben Whitaker on a defensive counter and scored on a strike that rattled off the crossbar before caroming in. The score was a departure from early play as both teams probed and prodded for weakness without success.
Although unable to find the back of the net early, Mount Dora was able to force action on the Eustis side of the pitch for much of the half. The Panthers' 11 first half shots on goal were well defended by in goal and the game remained tied at 1 at the end of the first period.
The Hurricanes knotted the score at the 17-minute mark of the second half when Angel Rodriguez sent a left-footed shot skimming past the keeper and into the far corner.
Danny Rodriguez scored on a shot taken as he was tackled and sent sprawling to the grass. This was quickly followed by a driving shot from the 18-yard mark by Cory Livingston and in the space of a minute, the Canes had seized control 3-1. The final score was registered when Livingston and Alejandro Ramirez added another set of back-to-back goals in the final minute of play as the relentless pressure employed by Mount Dora caused lapses in a Panther defense that had remained firm until the final 10 minutes.
