Friday, October 26, 2007
The Cardinals reached the regionals for the seventh straight time in a 1-0 win.
By DOUG CHAPIN
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
STRUTHERS — Without question, the Mooney High boys soccer program has been the most dominant in the area in recent years. The Cardinals had qualified for six straight regional appearances going into Thursday night’s Division II district championship game against Howland High at James Simon Sr. Soccer Park.
But it’s not like Mooney has run roughshod over the other quality programs in the area. In fact, three of the Cardinals’ victories in district championship games during their streak have come in overtime, including a 2-1 triumph over Howland in 2004.
The story was the same again on Thursday. Forward Matt McBride gathered in a through ball from sweeper Hector Hernandez, worked his way past two Howland defenders, and slid the ball into the lower right corner of the net with 6:45 remaining in the first 15-minute overtime period.
The 1-0 triumph sends the Cardinals (15-3-1) to the regional semifinal round Tuesday at Brecksville against Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy or Walsh Jesuit.
“I was hoping we would score more but that’s their [Howland’s] style,” Mooney coach Larry Lencyk said. “They’ve been doing this to teams all year. They’ve been playing a lot of good, sound, strong defense and looking to counter quickly.
“Fortunately we were able to stop that. But we expected a tight game. They are a very good team.”
Though Mooney had a 22-8 edge in shots and a 9-2 advantage in corner kicks, the Tigers (11-1-7) continued to frustrate the Cardinals. Howland goalkeeper Daniel Miller finished with eight saves.
“We played our normal defense, we didn’t do anything special, except we tried to mark them a little tighter,” Howland coach George Stevens said. “Our keeper played an excellent game. They are very good on set pieces so we tried to make sure we marked tightly on set pieces.”
Howland’s best chance to score came with just over 10 minutes left in the first half when Nick Giannakos fired a shot that Mooney keeper Jonathan Critell stopped with a dive. The Tigers’ Joseph Prezioso curled a shot just wide into the side of the netting with about 27 minutes left in regulation, drawing a round of cheers from the Howland fans who thought the ball was in the net.
Stevens said all it took in overtime was one good opportunity.
“It was a matter in overtime of somebody getting an — and I won’t say lucky — opportunity, but they got a through ball up and, had that happened to us, I would think we could have scored,” Stevens said. “That’s what happens in sudden victory overtime.
“But anytime you go through the whole season undefeated except for the last game you’ve had a good season. It’s a credit to our seniors this year, we had a great senior class. We wish Mooney the very best in the regional.”
The Cardinals are 5-1 in regional semifinal games and have reached the state championship game three times, winning in 2002 in Division II. Last year, Mooney lost 2-1 to Wickliffe in the Division III regional final.
Lencyk said the Cards are playing well, but he would like to see more.
“I always want us to play better than what we are doing,” he said. “I was happy with our defense today. The last several games I haven’t been happy with them, so they’ve improved.
“Offensively, we moved the ball well, they were just hard to score against. We’re playing well, but not as well as I would like us to play.”
XTo view photos of the game, visit http://new.vindy.com/photos/galleries.