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Mooney boys roll 4-0 over W. Branch
It marked the eighth straight year the Cardinals have won a district crown.
STRUTHERS — A veteran-laden Cardinal Mooney High School boys soccer team turned in a sparkling defensive performance Saturday to earn a district title and regional appearance.
The Cardinals allowed West Branch only two shots on goal as they posted a 4-0 victory over the Warriors for the Division II district championship Saturday at the Valley Sports Complex field.
“We take pride in our defense,” Mooney coach Larry Lencyk said. “We have 11 seniors on the team that have been together for a long time. They are an excellent group that works hard and it has chemistry that has produced a lot of success.”
Lencyk has been with the Mooney (16-3) soccer program 12 years and is in his second as head coach.
“It’s the eighth straight year that we have won the district title,” Lencyk said.
Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Solon High School, Mooney will play Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy. In the regular season, CVCA defeated Mooney, 3-0. Saturday’s game also was a rematch as the Cardinals had defeated the Warriors, 2-1.
It was a close, aggressive first half with the Cardinals taking the lead when Thomas Beck scored off an assist from James Simon with six minutes remaining.
Chris Felker, off an assist from Simon, made it 2-0 with 36 minutes, 11 seconds left in the second half.
Joe Merlo quickly added the next goal (27:50) off an assist from Robby Fox.
Leo Hicks finished the scoring (6:16) off another assist from Fox. The Cardinals had 12 shots on goal.
“It’s all about passing, working hard, making runs and having confidence in what you do and the kids did that,” Lencyk said.
Mooney goalkeeper Jonathan Critell recorded his eighth shutout in his last nine games.
“We did alright,” said West Branch (16-3) coach Matt Thomas after his third season ended. “We were aggressive in the first half and stayed close, but player for player they are better than us, so we tried to scheme with them. We got a little tired in the second half.”
“We set are goals high this season and accomplished some of them,” Thomas said. “We set a school record for wins.
“Getting to this game knowing we had to beat Mooney to get out of here is exactly where we wanted to be playing against the best there is around,” Thomas said.
Div. III
KINSMAN — Marcus Heath scored two goals and Sam Miller a goal and an assist for the Braves. Goalkeeper Brian Logan made three saves.
For the Eagles, Eric Ambosy scored off an assist from Mike Perisa. Jeff Follmeyer made nine saves.
Miller@vindy.com