Prep Report: Shorthanded rivals tie 0-0
Two evenly-matched teams, both missing starters from the lineup, had equal success against each other Friday night at Mariner’s Tony McKenna Field as the Tritons and Ida Baker Bulldogs settled for a scoreless tie.
“It was a tough one, a really good game,” said Mariner coach Beth Gedde. “Play was mostly in the middle of the field.”
The Tritons were down five starters and the Bulldogs were missing two, including goalkeeper Libby Schuls. All were in North Carolina participating in the Raleigh Showcase in front of a horde of college recruiters.
Junior Natalia Ortiz turned away 15 shots for the Bulldogs while Brittany Steeb made 14 saves for the Tritons (6-2-1).
“This one did not count for districts, so I played all our girls,” said Bulldogs coach Dave Trepkowski. “Mariner is a good team and I wanted to get our young girls some good experience. We have a couple of big games next week that will determine our district seeding.”
The Bulldogs and Tritons both will be back at full strength for their district rematch next Friday at Baker.
The Bulldogs (7-3-2) also play at Charlotte Monday and at North Fort Myers Tuesday. The Tritons host Cypress Lake Monday and Barron Collier Tuesday
Boys Basketball
Evangelical Christian 64, Mariner 56: Joel Vanderpool pumped in a game-high 25 points and Lane Joslin chipped in with 20 to carry Evangelical Christian to victory over Mariner.
Javier Rivera led the Tritons with 15 points and Cameron Beach had 13 points before leaving with an injury with four minutes remaining.
“We led by 12 at the half (33-21) and by three going into the fourth quarter, but didn’t get the job done down the stretch,” said Tritons coach James Harris.
Mariner (1-4) collides with Cape Coral Saturday night.
Bishop Verot 63, Cardinal Mooney 31: Brennan Melvin hit a game-high 21 points with Jesse Kane adding 10 points and five assists to lead Bishop Verot to a lopsided victory over Cardinal Mooney (2-2).
The Vikings (3-1) play at Ida Baker Wednesday.
Bishop Verot19 29 5 10 – 63
Mooney 6 7 9 9 – 31
VEROT 63 – Melvin 21, Kane 10, King 2, Hagan 6, Sandoval 9, Howard 6, Effenberg 7, Kollmann 2. Totals: 25 9-12 63.
3-point goals: Melvin 3, Sandoval 1.
MOONEY 31 – Wheeler 6, Bartlett 3, Mattera 8, Stansell 2, Stokes 6, O’Connell 2, Dumas 2, Montgomery 2. Totals: 12 4-7 31.
3-point goals: Mattera 2, Bartlett 1.
Boys Soccer
Mariner 4, Lehigh 1: Four different players scored goals to carry Mariner to a District 5A-15 victory over Lehigh at Tony McKenna Field.
Stephan Williams and Matt Lott connected on goals in the first half while Travis Edward and Tyler Korytkowski added scores in the second half. Korytkowski also had one assist and Dakota Hart had two assists. Goalkeeper Renato Proia made six saves.
The Tritons (4-4-2, 2-0-2 district) host Cypress Lake at 5:30 p.m. Monday, followed by the girls’ game.
Mariner’s Martin Cardenas will be going for his 200th victory as a varsity soccer coach at the school.
Baker 2, Fort Myers 2: Nick Presti and Daniel Sharkey each scored goals for host Baker but the Bulldogs were unable to hold a 2-0 halftime lead against the Green Wave.
The Wave got on the board early in the second half after a penalty and tied the score with six minutes remaining.
Cody Kluesner and Harvey Rincon picked up assists for the Bulldogs and goalkeeper Jose Zuniga made eight saves.
Baker (4-2-1) travels to Charlotte Monday.