With the help of two new players, the Eagles put the Bears away early with four goals during the first half.
By JOHN SCHWARB
Published December 4, 2003
SPRING HILL - Central crept closer to Springstead last season in the battle for county supremacy, but for now, the discussion is over.
Only about a half-hour Wednesday was needed for the Eagles to re-establish their dominance, jumping out to a 4-0 first-half lead in a 5-0 rout.
Two new faces powered Springstead, including a former Bears star. Senior George Kirshy scored the first two goals against his former teammates with sophomore Tristan Lowery assisting on both and scoring two goals of his own in his first varsity start.
"Tristan broke through (Wednesday)," Springstead coach Dan Calabrese said. "I don't know what it was. He just shone."
The same could be said for just about all of the Eagles in a first half in which combinations were landing and the defense held Central to two shots.
Springstead (6-1 overall, 4-1 Class 4A, District 9, 5-1 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference) scored less than five minutes in when Lowery delivered a cross from the right side to Kirshy, who headed it into the top right of the goal.
Kirshy struck again 18 minutes later, camping out in front of the goal during a corner kick. The kick originated from the left side and scooted through to Lowery on the right. Lowery again centered to Kirshy for the finish.
Lowery's goals came off of a deflection by Central goalkeeper Joe Cantu and a shot from the right side after a cross from Joey Lorentzen.
"We tried a couple of things. I'll take the blame for it," Central coach Jerry Bon said. "I ran a couple of people in that I normally don't."
Central (3-2, 3-2, 2-2), which lost 2-1 to Springstead in last season's district tournament, came in having allowed just five goals all season. After the lackluster first half, its second-half play was better, with five shots on goal and a few chances.
"I won't say we dominated them. But we sure rocked them back a lot better in the second half," Bon said. "In the first half, we couldn't string two or three passes together. The second half, we were doing four and five (passes)."
Junior John DeMutiis picked up the Eagles' last goal with four minutes left when Cantu bobbled a save in front of the net.
