Kicking It On Senior Night

Lady Bulldogs Celebrate 7-0 Win Over Anclote

The Lady Bulldogs soccer team honored seniors Laila Huffman and Erin Cruite Friday night and celebrated with a dominant 7-0 win over Anclote.

The senior night had a bit more meaning for Huffman as the three-year varsity player scored her first career goal in the Bulldogs’ win off an assist from Madison Poe. The Bulldogs are 4-6 on the season. With two games remaining, one more win this season would give them the highest winning total in over a decade. The 2010-2011 team finished 5-11-6.

“I’ve been waiting three years for this,” Huffman said. “I’m sure my momma cried here eyes out and I got a little teary too.”

Huffman, who celebrated her third senior of the school year (cheerleading and volleyball), saw this one as more personal.

“Soccer is my favorite sport next to volleyball and it was me and Erin out there and we’re pretty close, so it was awesome to have everybody there with me.

“It’s such a community with soccer because everybody is included. Everyone loves each other and cheers each other on. It’s just an awesome atmosphere.”

Zephyrhills coach Kathleen Jeffcott has a team loaded with underclass talent, but she has relied on her pair of seniors for bringing special traits to the program.

“Erin definitely brings the comic relief,” Jeffcott said. “We joke that it’s not a real ZHS game unless Erin falls. She’s always has something positive to say. She brings that positive message to the team no matter how bad or good it is. She turns everything around.

“Laila has some tough years where she didn’t get a lot of playing time. She is a kid that goes to college, goes to high school, has a job, and plays soccer. Soccer is her outlet, and she puts 100 percent of herself into it 100 percent of the time no matter what she has going on definitely sets our standard. She sets the standard for what everybody should be doing.”

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