Girls Soccer: PHU storms back into championship

Class 5A, Class 6A, what's the difference?

Apparently not much for the Palm Harbor University girls soccer team who, after winning last year's 5A state title, is once again back in the big dance gunning for 6A's crown.

Queli Ornelas' header in the second minute of Friday evening's girls Final Four semifinal at the University of Tampa's Pepin Stadium proved to be all PHU actually needed to dispose of Miami Lourdes, 2-0.

Freshman Kelly Phipps firmly slammed the door shut in the 52nd minute by punching a rebound into the left corner past Bobcats goalkeeper Carolina Garcia.

For nearly the entire 80 minutes Lourdes played on its heels under heavy pressure by the PHU attack. That observation is further bolstered by the official shots on goal statistic: PHU 8, Lourdes 0.

"Our defense came out really strong," said Ornelas. "All the defenders played extremely well, marked who they needed to make and did their jobs."

"Our defense always plays those great games," said Catherine Brinkman, who assisted on Ornelas' early goal. "We are never disappointed with our defense. A lot of teams don't have that strong defense they can count on 24/7 and we do."

"When you start with defense the goals eventually come."

The shutout marked 19th time PHU has blanked its opponent in 23 games.

Although PHU needed to wait about 50 minutes between goals, the team's command of the game was clearly evident. Virtually all of Lourdes' trips into the Hurricanes' half of the field were fleeting attempts to chase down clears.

"You could tell that once we came out really strong that they were getting panicked and frustrated," said Phipps. "We just kept the pressure up and kept the momentum the whole game."

PHU, the only unbeaten Final Four team in Class 6A at 22-0-1, will now meet another group of down-south Bobcats - Boca Raton High.

Boca Raton (23-4-2) advanced to the title game by beating Winter Springs, 2-0.

"They're good," PHU Coach John Planamenta said. "They showed a lot of team speed and they were knocking the ball around really well - and that was in bad weather. That's going to be a touch match."

Tempered knowing their work is not yet finished, Brinkman and Ornelas - both seniors - expressed their excitement for a crack at another state championship.

"It's a pretty good feeling, pretty indescribable," Brinkman said of returning to the finals for her senior year. "Not many teams win back-to-back, and to say that we even got here is a big accomplishment."

PHU and Boca Raton will face off Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. at Pepin Stadium on the University of Tampa campus.

BOX SCORE:

Miami Lourdes- 0 - 0 --- 0
Palm Harbor- 1 - 1 --- 2

BOX SCORE:

Goals

PHU - Queli Ornelas (2nd minute), Kelly Phipps (52nd minute)

Assists

PHU - Catherine Brinkman