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| The Citrus Bowl on the campus of Inverness Citrus High School, Inverness Florida |
Saturday, December 3, 2011 at 3:00 am (Updated: December 3, 3:02 am)
The biggest moments are those that require the best effort, and
although early in the season, the Citrus boys’ soccer team was able to
achieve that feat, blanking visiting Leesburg 4-0 in an early key
district matchup Friday night.
Hurricanes coach David Assumpcao watched his team produce four
different goal scorers, accompanied by a solid defensive effort that
joined the attacking foray, while being backed by stellar goalkeeping
throughout.
A fast-paced match from the opening whistle, early pressure
eventually cracked the Leesburg defense, as Manny Nelson drew a hard
foul on Citrus’ Josh Marsden in one-on-one coverage in the corner on the
Leesburg side. The foul warranted a penalty shot, which Connor Killeen
methodically banged home into the net in the 18th minute.
Killian McLean added a goal during stoppage time before the half, to
give Citrus a 2-0 edge.
Austin Wilcoxon charged in to chase down a send
toward the front of the net, and when Leesburg keeper Shawn Fordham
came well out of the box, the ball came off a deflection and bounced
toward the vicinity of McLean, who picked up the gift in close and sent
it to the back of the net high out of a defender’s reach.
Wilcoxon would score a little over a minute into the second half off
a feed from Ryan Dolan, and the Hurricanes (4-1 overall, 2-0 in
district play) were well on their way.
“We came strong, and the intensity was high. I ask the kids every
game to bring their best, and they played their best tonight,” said
Assumpcao.
An early dodged bullet followed by solid play in the goal helped
Citrus preserve and build on the lead on Leesburg (5-3-1). Down 1-0 in
the 23rd minute, the Fighting Jackets’ Ben Rizzo danced around a
defender in single coverage from the corner, and closed in for an open
shot on goal. But his boot sailed just high enough to graze off the
crossbar and out of play.
Hurricanes keepers Chris Malz and Alan Verone (subbing in midway
through the second half) combined for 12 saves to earn the shutout.
“Leesburg did an excellent job, I think, of pressuring us on the
defensive end (in the second half),” said Assumpcao. “They took some
shots – not so much on target, but it scared us…Chris Malz did a
fantastic job, able to sustain some of those shots.”
In the 71st minute, Robert Cignarelli put the icing on the cake for
Citrus, served up by Marsden, who sent a perfectly chipped cross from
the right of the box to Cignarelli, who deked around a lone defender for
an easy shot on goal, making it 4-0.
Citrus next hosts Tavares Tuesday for a 7:30 p.m. start.
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