Promise realized for Chargers

After years of building for the future, Shorecrest is right where it always wanted to be.

By CHRIS GIRANDOLA
Published January 26, 2006

ST. PETERSBURG - Shorecrest senior co-captain Tayllor Sembler fondly remembers the first time she and fellow seniors Chrissy Mastry and Kelli Jones appeared in the region quarterfinals.

"Oh, yeah," Sembler laughed, as she recalled the meeting against Bishop Verot, an eventual final four participant in 2001. "They were this huge powerhouse of a team and I was so scared about facing them, I made sure to do anything and everything to try and get out of playing against them."

Sembler "forgot" her shorts that day, but she borrowed a pair and still played.

Unfortunately, for her and the rest of the Chargers, Bishop Verot turned out to be that intimidating force Sembler and her eighth-grade peers feared, scoring 10 goals in the first half and ending the game due to the mercy rule. While the three admit to not physically growing much in five years - Mastry is the "tallest" at 5-foot-4 and Sembler and Jones are 5-2 - the seniors have matured.

"I had to convince them they were good enough to play varsity when I first arrived here," said coach Neal Wolfrath, who coached all three at various times throughout their adolescence at the Clearwater Central Catholic summer camp.

"They've almost been a metaphor for the program as far as its growth. I had the mentality when I was hired that I wanted to build Shorecrest soccer into one of the elite programs in the state. I knew they could help build the foundation because of their work ethic and their skill level."

The Chargers (16-3-2), who face Cambridge tonight, have been to the district final the past three years and claimed the school's first district championship by beating Indian Rocks Christian 3-1.

While Shorecrest benefited from Berkeley Prep's move to Class 3A, the co-captains took that as an extra challenge.

"We definitely wanted to prove this year that we were the class of the district, even without Berkeley," said Mastry, who scored five goals in two games in the district tournament. I think we showed both to our district and the state how good we are in beating CCC and St. Petersburg Catholic. And we only lost to Berkeley 2-1."

Coming full circle has also been a refreshing source of reflection for the six-year varsity starters.

"There has been times this year where we've noticed some of the freshmen and sophomores giggling and not being focused and we've had to talk to them a bit," Jones said.

"We definitely see us in them, you know, us from five years ago."

[Last modified January 26, 2006, 01:02:16]