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Suncoast Pinellas News

Countryside Boys Oust Dunedin

Countryside 5, Dunedin 1

Eric Horchy/SUNCOAST NEWS

Dunedin's Shane Deeley, in red, leaps and heads the ball downfield Monday evening at Countryside High School.

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By Eric Horchy | The Suncoast News

Published: December 11, 2007

CLEARWATER - CLEARWATER - It took about 20 minutes and the act of falling behind 1-0, but when the Countryside offense decided to come to life Wednesday night, they did not disappoint.

On two separate occasions – once in the first half and again in the second – the Cougars scored back-to-back goals in the span of a mere minute while rolling on to a 5-1 victory over Dunedin.

Both teams vied for controlling the game's tempo early in the first half until Dunedin took advantage of a free kick deep in Cougar territory. The Falcon's Chad Boston connected with a deep header from the top of the goal box that sailed over the outstretched arms of Countryside goal keeper Hunter Maricle for a 1-0 lead.

Dunedin's offense looked to be gaining momentum and confidence after going ahead as they continued applying pressure, but that did not last long.

After failing to find the net on their second corner kick opportunity of the match, Countryside's Joe Gratt regained possession before Dunedin defenders could clear the ball and tied the game at 1-1.

It was the beginning of a spectacular offensive performance from Gratt, who scored three of the Cougar's five goals.

Practically before Countryside could finish celebrating Gratt's first score, sophomore forward Zach Graves shook a defender, broke loose down the right side and booted home the Cougar's second goal in the span of a minute.

Countryside took the 2-1 lead into halftime and kept the pressure high upon returning to the field. Dunedin did manage a few looks at the net in the second half, though they could not sustain attacks for long.

The Cougars' third goal – and Gratt's second – was perhaps the night's most impressive. The junior midfielder got open on the left side and boomed a crossing shot that rattled the upper right-hand corner of the cage, deflecting into the net.

About 12 minutes later, Gratt tacked on his third and final goal. It was followed immediately by freshman Hassan Zidouhia's first score of his high school career, capping the 5-1 triumph.

Although Gratt has been encouraged to do so throughout the season, Countryside head coach David Sica said afterwards it was the first time he has fully taken advantage of having the green light to cut shots loose.

The Cougars also benefited Wednesday from getting Maricle back in goal after breaking his foot. That allowed backup keeper Greg Crowell to return to the forward position for needed help after Alex Zorrilla went down because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Coach Sica also mentioned the hit his team took when starting midfielder Ritchie Struder became inactive due to tearing his patella tendon earlier this year.

Injuries of that magnitude are devastating to any team, especially one that lost practically all of it's starters after reaching the regional finals the prior season.

"We're a young team and we've had some key injuries," Sica said. "But we're just finishing the beginning part of the season and we're starting to hit our stride. It's going to give us a lot to look forward to in the second half of the year."

The Cougars are now finished with league play until the district championships in January. They host two other North Pinellas schools later this week when Tarpon Springs and Palm Harbor University come to visit Wednesday and Friday, respectively.

Dunedin hits the road again once more this week, traveling Wednesday night to Osceola High School.

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