2003 25th Annual Seminole Invitational Tournament
Semi Finalist

It was an awesome tournament and a great way to end our 2002-03 season. The boys met some excellent competition and put on a great show. I couldn't help but think about how we started the season at Black Watch, and how we ended the season this weekend. We've come a long way this year.

Our first two games were against a couple of green teams, Strictly Soccer and Southlake. Our boys completely dominated play in both of these games, outscoring both by a combined score of 21-1. Although these were not the games we came to play, it wasn't a bad warm up for what was to come. A few highlights... In our match vs. Strictly Soccer, TJ led the team with two goals and an assist, and James played one of his best games of the year hammering in a beautiful shot as well. Mitch, Andy, and Cam added goals as well. Versus Southlake, Trevor hammered in an amazing five goals, Mitch had a hatrick and one assist, Camp (our guest player) launched a 40+ yard shot from the right defender position which had to be our longest goal of the season. And, as usual, Taylor, Connor, Trevor, and TJ gave us great efforts on defense in both games. In their first two matches, the boys out shot their opponents 58 to 5.

In game three we faced off against an excellent Region D team in Navarre. Going into the game we were tied with Navarre in wins, total points, and goal differential. It looked like it was going to be an excellent match up.... And it was.... The first half was a great head to head battle. Both teams had similar styles of play. Navarre had a very dangerous wing and excellent athletes all over the field. Nearing the end of a very competitive first half I was feeling that I'd be content to end with a 0-0 score and a chance to regroup. But with less than a minute to go, Mitch hammered in a goal that put us up and quickly changed the momentum of the contest. In the second half both teams picked up the tempo despite the fatigue. Gradually our boys gained possession time and over the course of 10 minutes or so, they began to wear Navarre down. Near the mid point of the half Mitch launched 35 yard blast from mid field over the goalie's head, putting us up 2-0. Navarre wasn't ready to give up, but they had lost some of their drive. A few minutes later Mitch sealed his hatrick with a hard driven ball from the right sideline, sealing the game in what would be our second shut out of the weekend. I was incredibly proud of the way our boys played. Without a doubt, everyone played fantastic. Cameron, Taylor, Andy and Connor were fantastic on defense. Mitch played one of his strongest and smartest attacking games of the year. And Danny gave us another great effort in goal. With this win, the boys ended their first two days of play leading the entire Seminole tournament with total points, goals scored, and fewest goals allowed. Quite a turnaround from our first tournament where we led the negative stats with fewest goals scored (i.e., zero).

In the semi finals we met a well prepared and pumped team from Lakeland. We came out very strong and attacked the goal well in the first 5 minutes of the game. TJ followed a ball launched by Andy and knocked in the first goal of the game for us when the goalie mishandled it. But Lakeland was unphased and responded shortly after that with three unanswered goals. Our boys looked fatigued and our defensive and midfield play wasn't up to par. When we got possession we worked the ball around well, but often lost it to a double or triple team near the goal box. We were getting of shots more frequently than Lakeland, but most were aimed precisely at the Lakeland goalie or went wide. Finally, with minutes left in the half, Andy his a long ball from 30 yards out that the goalie mishandled and gave us our second goal of the half. At half time with the score 3-2, we were still in this one.

In the second half we came out very strong and took control of the game for several minutes. Mitch fought off a hard defense in the box and left footed a ball into the net, tying the game and giving us a boost of momentum. But Lakeland continued to fight hard and in a seesaw battle they scored again, and Trevor answered again with a fourth goal. With just minutes left in the game it looked like a tie might be the outcome. But it wasn't to be. Lakeland hit a hard driven ball from 20 yards out that skimmed past Danny's hands and hit the top corner of the net. It was too late and we had too little gas to make a come back. This one ended 4-5 in Lakeland's favor. If our boys had their usual legs and our team defense was fresh, four goals should have won this one for us. Lakeland, by the way, was only the third team to score 5 or more goals against the Rampage in their 39 games this year. Weston did it in the first game of the year, knocking us off 9-0 in one of our great learning experiences. And Tallahassee United did it at the Ormond Beach tournament, knocking us off 5-2 in what was one of our poorest defensive games of the year. The game against Lakeland was a disappointing loss for our boys, but certainly a well deserved win for Lakeland.

We came to Seminole for some great competition and fun and we certainly got it. I was super proud of all of our kids. They worked hard in the heat and put on a great show. They earned the respect of all of their opponents.

Each tournament we name a player to receive our sportsmanship award. This tournament the award goes to both James D. and Craig K. for their unselfish play and support during this tournament as well as through the entire year. Congratulations to both and to all 14 players that traveled to Orlando with us. Enjoy your summer!

[Back to Results]