By DAN HOEHNE
daniel.hoehne@newssun.com
LAKE PLACID - The Lake Placid ladies of the soccer pitch eked one out Tuesday, getting past tough district foe Mulberry at home by a 2-1 score.
Though things looked like they might have been a lot different as the Lady Wildcats wasted little time in getting on the board, with the opening goal of the contest coming from Jenteal Hudson just 38 seconds after the opening whistle.
But in the seventh minute, Lake Placid responded to even things up.
Mary Grace Bates raced past the defense toward a lofted pass, gathered it in just to the right front of the goal.
Her running kick found its' mark, slipping into the upper right corner untouched to tie it at 1-1.
From there, for the remainder of the half, both defenses locked in, with Lady Dragon keeper Tamija Douglas keeping busy turning away numerous shots on goal.
In a three-minute sequence, she turned away a trio of shots, making a nice grab in the eighth minute, a leaping deflection in the ninth minute and a drop-to-the-knees cover in the 11th.
On the night, the freshman Douglas would garner 18 saves.
Lake Placid then broke the tie on a Michelle Hunter goal in the second half to take the district win.
Up in Mulberry, the boys squad would also need to come from behind, but could only battle back so far, settling for a tie against the Wildcats.
The Dragons would hold a 7-4 shooting edge in the first half, but Mulberry was a bit more efficient in holding a 1-0 halftime lead.
Lake Placid kept up the attack in the second half and were finally rewarded with the tying goal.
Senior Wilfreddy Moreno took a cross from senior Ivan Barajas, redirected it and found the back of the net.
And while the scoring stopped after that and the tie went in the books, Dragon head coach James Ashley was pleased with the effort and outcome.
"Mulberry has been the top team in our district every year since I started coaching here," he said. "To get a draw on the road against them is a step forward."
Ashley gave credit to the team overall, calling it a complete team effort, and rewarding the Dragon defense, anchored by Christian Resendiz, Jorge Godinez, Armando Calivillo and Jose Becerra, with player of the game honors.
"They kept us in the game," Ashley said. "They worked hard to defend all over the field and they played a solid game."
Both Dragon squads squared off with Frostproof Thursday, continuing district play, with the girls on the road and the boys at home.
See Sunday's News-Sun for results.
Friday, November 16, 2012 - www.newssun.com/FRI-11-16-12-LPSoccer