Cunningham scores seven as Seffner Christian reached 2A-8 final

Posted Jan 27, 2010 by Nick Murray

Updated Jan 27, 2010 at 12:31 PM

As Seffner Christian coach Mark Canterbury said himself, it’s hard for one player to take over a game of soccer.

But on Tuesday night, SCA’s Steven Cunningham came as close as you can to doing so, scoring seven goals as the Crusaders defeated Lakeland Santa Fe Catholic 8-3 in the Class 2A-District 8 tournament semifinals at Lakeland Christian.

“It’s one of those things you’ll remember for a few years to come,” Canterbury said.

The Crusaders trailed 3-1 in the first half before a goal just before the break pulled the score back to 3-2. It was then that not only Cunningham but the rest of the team stepped up, winning more possession in midfield, and tightening up defensively to take control of the game.

“We were tighter on our marks, winning 50-50 balls, we won just about every 50-50 ball in the second half,” Canterbury said.

That allowed Cunningham to thrive, as his midfield started angling their passes over the top of the Santa Fe defense more towards the corner flags, allowing Cunningham to use his speed to get possession and go. And when he got possession, there was no stopping him.

“He scored from everywhere,” Canterbury said. “He scored from 25 (yards) out, he scored just outside the (penalty area), a half-volley from the left side, he got a PK, a couple of breakaways. It was just one of those nights, get this kid the ball and he’s going to score.”

Cunningham now has 37 goals on the season, and while many of those goals have come against the weaker opposition you would associate with a 2A school’s schedule, that wasn’t the case on Tuesday night, Santa Fe having defeated the Crusaders twice already this season. In their first season of winter soccer after playing fall soccer until the sport was discontinued after the 2007 season, the Crusaders are now going to the region playoffs, something Cunningham is very proud of.

“Last spring whenever I would talk to coaches, people would tell me ‘hey, you know you guys are going to have a learning curve going to winter soccer,’ ” Canterbury said. “I just challenged the guy that it doesn’t have to be that way. Do not let other people’s perception of the way they think you should play dictate our season.”