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7 Brackets Battle For Titles In Soccer Tournament

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By DAREK SHARP

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 21, 2008

PLANT CITY - The postseason is under way this week in Plant City Recreation and Parks Department/Optimist Youth Soccer League play.

Seven age groups will determine a champions through tournament play, with seven tournament finals scheduled to take place June 3.

Some games kicked off on Monday.

It would appear that the Under-15 Boys bracket may be the most wide-open of the seven. On May 13, the Spirit, Spartans and Sidekicks won to go to 6-1 on the season, and the Strikers sit in first place at 6-0-1.

Gerson Herrera scored four goals in the Spartans' 7-2 victory against the Sharks, Andres Medina had a hat trick as the Spirit beat the Seminoles 5-1 and the Sidekicks beat the Sockers 3-0.

On May 6, the Strikers handed the Sidekicks their first defeat, 4-1.

It the seeds go according to form, the semifinal match-ups on May 31 will pit the Strikers against the Spirit, and the Spartans with the Sidekicks. But there are eight other teams in the Under-15 Boys group that will try and disrupt those plans. The first round of matches was scheduled Tuesday with the quarterfinals coming up next Tuesday.

The top four teams in the Under-15 Girls are the Speed and Stars, both unbeaten through five weeks of play, along with the Sounders and Swarm. The Speed play the Sonics at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

In the Under-10 Boys league the Bobcats won the American Division regular season championship, and the Lancers emerged as best of the seven teams in the National Division. Both teams received byes directly into next Tuesday night's quarterfinals. The Bobcats will play at 7:15 p.m. against this Thursday's Rowdies/Firestorm winner. The Lancers will go up against the Cyclones or the Rampage.

Last week, the Lancers beat the Jaguars 7-1 with Alan Vazquez scoring three goals and Jonathan Mansilla adding a pair. The Bobcats edged the Rowdies 3-1.

The Cosmos and Celtics, second place in their respective divisions, will open tournament play Thursday. Both teams are on a roll, having won their May 10 contests by 8-0 scores.

Having set themselves apart from the Under-10 Girls field with undefeated records, the Wolves and Lynx begin their tournament runs at 6 p.m. Thursday. Angelina Conde and Mariana Hernandez scored four goals for the Wolves in an 8-5 win over the Fury on May 10.

Four teams in the Under-12 Boys league had one loss or fewer after the first five weeks. The Metrostars are the top seed for the tournament and will play 6 p.m. Thursday. The Revolution, Crew and Vikings also received byes into Thursday's quarterfinals.

All games are played at the Otis M. Andrews Sports Complex off Park Road. This is the 32nd year of Optimist soccer play.

There are no playoffs in the 5-8 age groups.

Reporter Darek Sharp can be reached at dsharp@tampatrib.com.

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