By DAN HOEHNE
daniel.hoehne@newssun.com
Seeking to get his team into the competitive fire, Sebring boys soccer coach Tim Boulay invited a slate of tough foes for the Pre-Season Soccer Classic at Firemen's Field, including state power Auburndale, Lakeland and Bartow - which provided a 3-2 loss at the hands, or feet, of the Yellow Jackets Monday night, but is the sort of intent that pays off down the road.
"Five of our first six games in the regular season are district games," Boulay said before the game. "It's tough to go right into district to start the season, so it's good to get that competition level up to be ready for that."
In Monday night's opener, the Bloodhounds got past Lakeland in a 5-0 shutout before the Blue Streaks squared off with Bartow for the first time in a while.
"We hadn't played them in six years," Boulay said. "It's always a good match-up, very even, with either us up one or down one."
It looked like they would be down one early as, in the sixth minute, Bartow was on the attack and had the ball inside the Sebring goal box for some rapid-fire shots at the net.
But the Blue Streak defense was up to the challenge with defenders deflecting the first two attempts, goalkeeper Jesse Ouverson knocking away a third, before a fourth kick was gotten under and sent over the goal.
Four minutes later, it was Sebring's turn with a chance as Buck Schroeder lined up for a direct free kick from the top right of the penalty box.
Buck's attempt bent, but not quite enough, caroming off the outside of the left post.
Within a minute, however, Schroeder again had an attempt, this time on a penalty kick, where he made a little deke to his right, getting the Bartow keeper leaning, before flicking it in to the left to give the Streaks a 1-0 lead.
The defenses held over the next 12 minutes, but at the 32:07 mark, Bartow junior midfielderJob Saucedo fired one on an upward line that somehow found the space between Ouverson's outstretched hands and the bottom of the cross bar to even things up at 1-apiece - where it would stay through the half.
Sebring seemed to regain control in the second half, limiting the Jacket's opportunities on their side of the field and pressing for more scoring chances.
At 55:02, the Streaks got the ball into the goal box, where it seemed to be deflected by the Bartow keeper.
But it wasn't controlled and Sebring senior Octavio Galvan quickly got to it and sent a quick rip into the net to put the Blue Streaks back on top.
They would hold the lead for nearly 18 minutes, which was seven minutes less than needed, as Saucedo got behind the Sebring defense for a one-on-one that he won to even things up at two.
Barely more than a minute later, at 74:00, Carlos Giraldo lined up for a direct free kick, found the back corner of the net and broke the tie.
Sebring would not have an answer in the waning minutes, but Boulay didn't seem overly concerned afterward.
"I liked our movement off the ball, but we need to work on our short passes," he said. "We've got a core group of players back from last year who just need to be working together more and there are some new faces that we just need to get in the fold."
Ouverson totaled 19 saves on the night in goal, while Schroeder added an assist and three steals to his goal scored.
Troy Talbert, Cody Watson and Isaias Chavez Aquino also had three steals apiece for Sebring.
The Blue Streaks faced Lakeland Tuesday night in the consolation game with Bartow and Auburndale squaring off in the championship, before Sebring welcomes Osceola Tuesday, Nov. 10, to Firemen's Field to open the regular season.
See Friday's News-Sun for the results of Tuesday night's contest.
Wednesday, November 04, 2009 - www.newssun.com/WED-11-04-SebSoccer