Palm Harbor girls soccer reloading after two titles

It would be easy to walk away a cynic after glimpsing over this year's Palm Harbor University girls soccer roster.A number of familiar names - 10 to be exact - that brought PHU its fourth and fifth state championship trophies are absent from the list.

But that's high school sports: student-athletes come, they go, then new ones come in attempting to replicate their predecessors' feats. And no one in girls soccer throughout the Suncoast is better at making that transition than the Hurricanes.

Coach John Planamenta has had his girls qualify for the state final four in six out of the last seven seasons, winning the title three times and placing second twice.

Despite the track record of success, Planamenta, in his eighth season as head coach, said the past two seasons are just that for this young team - the past.

"We don't bring it up much. Right now we're just focused more on what we're fortunate to have as a program."

What that is is one of the youngest rosters Planamenta has had to work with in years. The class representing the majority of PHU players consists of last year's eighth graders. Eight freshman and seven sophomores give the Hurricanes 15 underclassmen compared to nine upperclassmen, five juniors and four seniors.

On the surface those are numbers that make teams throughout Pinellas County and Class 6A as a whole breathe a collective sigh of relief.

A closer look reveals a different story that opposing clubs would much rather ignore. Young as PHU may be, 12 girls return that were part of last year's title team and six have the experience of being two-time winners. And of the 12 from 2009-10, four of them - Kelly Phipps, Paige Lombard, Anja Decker and Nicole Naclerio - started the championship game.

Kelly Phipps is one of the four returning starters and comes into this season as a Pinellas County Player of the Year contender. The sophomore netted two of PHU's three final-four goals last year including the overtime game-winner to beat Boca Raton in the finale.

After an early-season 3-1 win over rival East Lake last week, Phipps said the team is still learning to work together as a unit but that the talent is there.

"I think we're still adjusting; it's a whole new group of girls. Last year we had all seniors and the chemistry was just perfect. We're still rebuilding but I think we have a good team."

Establishing a consistent on-the-field chemistry is the team's focus right now early in the season, Planamenta said.

"That's a big thing (with a younger team). If a few of them aren't on the same page it can change a lot of things.

"We're fortunate enough to have these players that really do know the game coming in, though."

Planamenta said that the return of Lombard from an ankle injury will aid the development of cohesiveness among the more inexperienced varsity girls.

"She's one who's a total team player. She'll go wherever I need her; just an overall great player."

Just as Phipps mentioned, though, Planamenta stated that the season still remains a work in progress.

"There are still some players I'd like to see in game situations, but it's early. We're working them in. It's a young group, but it's encouraging."

Encouraging enough to even begin thinking district championship? Final four? Three-peat?

That's a little premature and surely debatable. The Hurricanes' 2-1 loss to Clearwater Central Catholic gave them as many losses as the previous two PHU teams had combined over 46 games.

What can't be questioned, though, is this: Until a challenger steps up and takes it away, the crown remains in Palm Harbor.

It's been there for 642 days and counting.