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Lancers Make Their Point

Photo from Jim Turcich

The Plant City Lancers U-13 team, which recently found itself in the state club soccer rankings, consists of: front, Jessica McClernan; second row, from left, Hannah Singletary, A.J. Alanis, Carly Bornstine, Olivia Wiles, Miranda Stewart, Kelsey Brevik, Amy Arias and Rachel Kummelman; third row, Jojo Alanis, Alexa Grace, Rebekah Arrigo, Shelby Hegenauer, Holly Turcich and Courtney Carter; and back, head coach Jim Turcich and assistants Andy Wiles and Oscar Barnes.

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By DAREK SHARP dsharp@tampatrib.com

The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 14, 2009

PLANT CITY - Just getting a full team on the field became a humble goal for the Plant City Lancers Under-13 girls soccer club.

Last year, the Lancers had to play in an 8-on-8 league - which is pretty much the only option when only eight people fill out the squad.

Things have changed, and pretty dramatically. From a group made up mostly of players who, frankly, couldn't make it on other clubs, the U-13 Lancers have turned into a greatly respected unit. This season's success hit a pinnacle recently when Plant City entered the state rankings.

"It's amazing what, if you tell someone they can't do something, how determined they can be," said Lancers coach Jim Turcich. "These girls told me up front, 'Hey, people say we stink.' They were told by others that they weren't good enough and got cut."

Indeed, in his efforts to try to field a Lancers squad, Turcich had to look at other clubs' cuts. What has happened with this group of others' "castoff" players has been remarkable.

On the heels of a year when the Lancers played at the lowest level of Florida club soccer, 8-on-8 Division 3, this year's first practice had - take a guess - eight girls show up. But as Turcich called other clubs around the Tampa Bay area, he was able to get more players, and their talent emerged to the point that the Lancers were elevated to Division 2 play.

The first notion that Plant City had some talent came at a summer event in Melbourne Beach where the Lancers made the semifinals.

"This was the first time a lot of these girls had even traveled anywhere to play soccer," Turcich said. "They made the semis; then we went to an event in Palm Harbor and came so close to making the finals. We were going up against Division I teams, too."

Plant City just needed a tie against the hosts to claim a trophy, but Palm Harbor scored with only 30 seconds left for a 1-0 win. Still, the Lancers shook that off and had another good showing at a Halloween event in Largo.

One result in particular showed just how much the Lancers have improved. They tied the Hernando Heat, which beat the Lancers 8-0 last season.

"You would have thought they'd won the World Cup the way they celebrated," said Turcich.

With the respect they've earned at the various tournaments, the Lancers find their schedule filling up, with tourney invites coming in regularly.

Plant City's record of 9-9-2 through the first 20 games was good enough to make national Web site usarank.com take notice. The Lancers are No. 55 in the state for under-13 girls teams.

Such a turnaround is hard to believe, but it came with hard work; the Lancers held approximately 50 practices before playing their first game.

Though Turcich has enjoyed the results, he is far more taken with how his team has forged into such a strong group.

"I'm proud to point out that our girls are quite diverse, and represent seven different schools," he said. "Forming a team is one thing ... becoming one is quite another. And our team would not be where it is without the unbelievable support of our parents."

One event that greatly impacted the Lancers was a team visit to Raymond James Stadium to see the USA National squad take on the Korean Republic.

Through his ties with the national soccer program, Turcich arranged for some of the players to speak personally with his team.

"It was unbelievable. It's hard to get girls to sit still for very long, but at this game they stayed glued to their seats. They were watching the game, not worrying about the cute boy two rows down," he said.

Turcich added that the most special moment of the 2008-09 club schedule so far had nothing to do with his team's on-field performance.

Shortly before one contest, the team learned a teammate's family member had become seriously ill.

"These young ladies, out of sight of nearly all in attendance, encircled her, joined hands and they prayed. It was an amazing moment for a group of girls who just a few months before were mostly strangers," Turcich said.

Apart from tournaments, the Lancers compete in a league with teams from around the Tampa Bay area, including Brandon, Dunedin and Manatee. The girls' next home game is Sunday against Brandon.

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