Palm Harbor’s ladies are making a very strong case that they’re one of the top programs in the land.
The land? What “land” are we talking about? That would be the USA, if you believe the national computer ranking that sets up the Florida state playoff field each year.
The Lady Hurricanes (9-0-0) are ranked No. 19 in America in Dec. 15th’s computer rankings posted at Maxpreps — which has become the national sounding board for who is good, and who isn’t. After Wednesday and Thursday nights’ decisive victories over recent Pinellas blue-blood St. Petersburg HS (9-1 win) and Mitchell (4-0), it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see what is developing down the street from where you live, Palm Harbor.
This weekend’s stakes are even bigger at the Tampa Bay Champions League semifinals and the potential final up in Pasco County.
“The girls are super fired up and excited for the opportunity to play for the first-ever ladies Champions League,” PHU head coach Randy Irick told PalmHarborSports.com. “Any time we get to play for a trophy it adds to the pressure and the excitement and now that it’s the first-ever champion for the ladies CL? It makes it extra important.
“The girls are clicking on all cylinders and are ready.”
The ladies have outscored their nine opponents 48-3. You might want to stop by in January and see what it’s all about if you haven’t had a chance.
And since we’re mentioning Palm Harbor soccer? The boys’ team has one of its best teams in years too, and is ranked No. 135 in the nation in the most recent ranking — and the boys haven’t been in that position in years. This may be the top PHU boys’ team in nearly 10 years, too.
For those of you living in PH? This was stated recently and is worth repeating — according to US News and World Report, there are 24,000 high schools in the United States.
But, as Irick puts it? Paper rankings are about as crucial as the ash the paper rankings become during a New Year’s Eve get-together — it means absolutely nothing and can disappear without a trace without tangible results. And that’s his loudest message to his very talented team coming into this very key weekend in Lady Hurricanes soccer.
This is the way to wrap 2022, and 2023 is what really matters from this weekend onwards.
On Saturday, the Lady Canes head to the semifinals of the Tampa Bay Champions League. For the ladies, it is in its first-year infancy brainchild of Tampa Bay soccer coaching legend Jim Harte and several of his talented colleagues. Harte led CCC’s boys to a ton of success over the years, among other career stops — and he felt the Tampa Bay area is about as elite as it comes.
So he decided to head up a project to bring together the best of the best, and raise money to make it all happen. The project has been a huge success and warmly welcomed by the soccer community.
Well, in the first go-around with the young ladies? Harte is getting exactly what he wanted from the standpoint of serious quality. Palm Harbor’s girls are the No. 1 seed in TB and at No. 19 nationally play undefeated (No. 55 in the USA) Land O’Lakes (5-0-2 record). The winner of PHU’s Saturday morning’s TB Champions League semifinal? Gets to play the other semifinal winner of No. 27 in the USA, Durant of Plant City (12-0-0), who takes on No. 14 in the USA, Tampa Catholic (7-0).
You read that correctly — Four of the top 55 teams in America will be fighting it out in the semifinals right up the street on Saturday in Pasco County in the TB Champions League, with the two semifinal winners meeting at 6 pm for the championship at St. Leo College.
Aside from progressing into a state postseason bracket where a team can get a sanctioned state title? This Saturday is clearly the biggest thing on the prep calendar for girls’ and boys’ soccer in Tampa Bay (PHU’s boys did not qualify for this elite tournament, this year — but look like good candidates for 2023-24).
Clearly. These are the high-level matches soccer fans long for in every other corner of the world, why not the prep sports world of greater Tampa Bay? This is one of the top-two prep soccer hotbeds in one of the best soccer-playing states in Florida?
TB is second only to a much more populated area from Palm Beach to Miami in terms of how the nation views Florida soccer at the high school level.
Coming into this vital tournament, Jr. Kassie Fragale has scored 9 goals, while Sophomore Lindsay Nicholson has added 7. Senior Crosby Nicholson is headed to Kansas State and has contributed 3 goals and 2 assists. The defense has been sound and the offense has been explosive. It truly has been the total package …
So far
But this weekend will be — by far — the biggest challenge of the 2022-23 season and may constitute the biggest challenge it faces until deep in the playoffs if the Hurricanes perform well.
“Honestly? This team isn’t being carried by the offense or the defense — it’s really one unit,” Irick told PalmHarborSports.com. “This chemistry rivals that of the 2019 state champions. They’re very unselfish and easy to coach. If I had to pick what I’m more impressed with it would be our defense because all of them are new starters, including our goalkeeper, Keely Cash.”