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The Plant City Courier & Tribune

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Raiders Have Youth On Their Side

By DAREK SHARP

dsharp@tampatrib.com

Published: December 17, 2008

PLANT CITY - They may end up making a few rookie mistakes, but that's a part of the process their coaches do not mind so much.

Plant City's boys and girls soccer teams are both carrying a large number of first-year starters, and the result has been optimism, if not always wins.

"We're definitely a young team," said first-year head coach Wendy Young, who was a tremendous soccer player for the Raiders in her high school days. "The girls are hard workers and have been very positive."

Young's team might have as many as eight freshmen on the field at any given time. The young players are helped along by two strong senior players, leading scorer Emily Hoy and Kate Wicker.

Hoy does just about everything that can be asked of a player on the field.

"She sets the tone," Young said. "She plays sweeper on defense but makes a lot of runs up the field."

Through the team's 2-5 start, Hoy had five goals. Plant City's two wins were against nondistrict foes Lennard and Robinson, by a 15-0 total.

Already the girls' team has more victories than last year's squad.

On the boys' side, Plant City has been unable to match last year's start of not having lost a game until the final week of the season. But that does not come as a surprise.

"We have nine new starters," said Raider head coach K.C. van der Luit. "I expected us to be around .500 the Raiders began with a 3-2-1 mark, and our record, all things considered, is not too shabby."

Like the girls' team, the Raiders have a small core of leading returners, namely Brian Fekete and Matt Kirkland.

Both Plant City teams are playing their home games at Otis M. Andrews Sports Complex this season due to ongoing field work at Raider Stadium.

"That suits me fine because our district tournament is held on a big field like the one we're playing on," said van der Luit, explaining that the Raider Stadium setup for soccer is a little narrower than a regulation soccer field.

Plant City visited Durant on Tuesday. Next up is taking part in the Wharton Invitational. The Raiders play Sickles on Jan. 3, followed by games with King and Brandon.

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