2009 District-12 Division 4-A Ladies Soccer Championship Semi-Finals

Wednesday was cold and beautiful. Wednesday night was just plain cold. But in Immokalee the action was hot on the soccer field. It was the semi-final matches of the District Championship for the ladies, and all four teams came ready to play. In the first match Golden Gate's Lady Titans were up against the Lady Bears of Palmetto Ridge. Palmetto was strong and consistent throughout, securing a berth in the Finals with a 4 to 0 win.

By the time the second match began, temperatures had fallen to the mid 40's and kept falling throughout. The game could not have been closer, with Naples and Lely finishing regulation and overtime with a 2 - 2. The match was decided by a series of best of 5 "penalty kicks", pitting each teams Goal Keeper alone against a single shooter. Naples secured the victory.

See all the action in a special gallery for the playoff by clicking here.

High School Basketball: Barron Collier hosts Palmetto Ridge

This past Tuesday, the Palmetto Ridge Bears came down to Barron Collier to take on the Cougars in Boys High School Basketball. We have action shots from all three games; Freshman, JV, and Varsity.

When you look for the pictures of your favorite players, check through each category for the games of interest. Click here to go to Basketball on Naplespix.com

High School Boys Varsity Basketball - Gulf Coast hosts Barron Collier

This was from a week ago, when the Barron Collier basketball teams travelled across town to Gulf Coast. It was two fantastic games with opposite results. In the first game, the JV squads battled hard with Barron finally edging the Sharks 55 to 51.

In the second game, Barron, arguably the favorite to win, just could not overcome the relentless defense of Gulf Coast. The Sharks just would not give an inch, and because of last minute strategies and intentional fouls, the outcome was much closer than the final 71 to 64 score looked.

Be sure to tell everyone to see the great game pix on Naplespix.com

JV High School Basketball - First Baptist Academy hosts Palmetto Ridge

The Lions of FBA have had a good season, but coming off a two week Christmas vacation without practice, proved to be the lump of coal in their stocking when they lost badly to Community School on Monday. The Palmetto Ridge Bears were going to bear the brunt of the Lions frustration.

As with the girls team on Thursday, the boys were not holding back anything. Their shooting was accurate, feet were fast, and defense strong. They were willing to penetrate and drive to the basket. The result was a near 30 point win.

See pix from this game by clicking here.

Thanks,
Mike

High School Soccer - Palmetto Ridge host Golden Gate

Thursday night featured a nearly full moon and chillier temperatures than we have experienced in recent days. But inside the lines the action was hot at Palmetto Ridge High School in Naples, Florida. The Bears were host to both JV and Varsity squads from Golden Gate High, and the intensity was high, but without the kinds of spectator antics we saw earlier in the week at Barron Collier.

I arrived in the second half of the JV match, but what became obvious was how well matched the teams were, especially on defense, as they finished with a 0 - 0 tie.

In the Varsity game, the battle was just as hard - with the Bears holding the highly successful Titans to one goal in the first half, and only giving way in the final 10 minutes of action. Golden Gate notched their 12th win 4 -0.

See action shots from each game on Naplespix.com

click here to go to the Soccer Page!

Thanks,
Mike

First Baptist Academy JV Girls host Golden Gate

From Thursday afternoon, January 8, 2009. The Golden Gate High School Girls Junior Varsity Basketball team travelled to First Baptist Academy to face the Lions, who were still licking their wounds from the previous Monday night loss to the Sea-Hawks of Community School.

The Lions came out roaring, and never let up, as if they could atone for Mondays outcome. The play on both sides was strong and serious, and Golden Gate made a strong push in the second half, but could not overcome the first half lead the Lions had built.

See pictures from the game on Naplespix.com by clicking here, and tell all team members, friends and family to check them out.

Thanks,

Mike

High School Boy's Varsity Soccer - Barron Collier High hosts Gulf Coast High

I attended the Soccer match between cross-town rivals Barron Collier and Gulf Coast High Schools held at Cougar Stadium Tuesday night. Both teams played all-out. Emotions were high even on the sidelines and in the stands.

Barron seemed to have the edge through most of the game, but Gulf Coast capitalized on a penalty kick, and scored again, but could not overcome Barron's 4 goals. Barron prevailed 4 to 2.

Click here to check out all the action shots on Naplespix.com

Thanks,
Mike

High School JV Basketball - Community School hosts First Baptist Academy

Well, we're into a new year, and new sports season, and shooting action pix! The holidays and personal activities had us on the sidelines for a few weeks, but now we're back on the real sidelines and baselines!

Thanks to Coach Gene Rochette at The Community School of Naples, we were able to take in the two JV games there Monday night. The very capable CSN teams both handled the young FBA teams easily. One might presume that because of the involvement of several middle school athletes in the composition of the FBA teams that they are not "up" to the High School JV level, but that would be a misjudgement. Both teams have fared well so far in the season, with the FBA JV men at 7 -2 including this loss. The women have a very respectable 5 -3 record.

Please check out the pictures from both games online at Naplespix.com

Here is a link to the Women's game.

Here is a link to the Men's game.

Please feel free to pass these links along to others who may enjoy the pictures, and your support helps keep pictures coming.

Thanks,

Mike