Thursday, October 28, 2010
By JIM flick
GIRARD
The Badger High soccer team remained undefeated and advanced to the boys Division III championship soccer game after defeating Ursuline, 4-2, on Wednesday.
Badger (17-0-1) will play the district championship game against the winner Warren JFK on Saturday.
The Braves were led Wednesday by sophomore Ben Meardith and junior Sean Dunfee, who each scored two goals.
Dunfee was also credited with an assist. Senior Troy Elsea earned two assists for Badger, while senior Nick Fiest also contributed an assist.
Badger goalie Tyler Lucy, a senior, had nine saves.
Both goals for Ursuline (8-9-1) were scored by senior Kevin Kablan, while Irish goalie Robert Marsch, a junior, was credited with 13 saves.
Badger seemed in control from the beginning, keeping the ball on Ursuline’s end for most of the night.
“Being able to control the ball — that’s been our trademark,” said Badger coach Karl Martin. “In practice, we work on ball possession and combination play.
“If we can control the ball and get scoring chances, we can put the ball in the back of the net,” Martin added.
Meardith scored the game’s first goal a little more than 10 minutes into the first half.
Ten minutes later, Meardith added his second tally.
Kablan put Ursuline on the scoreboard with 13:03 remaining in the first half.
Dunfee boosted the Braves’ lead when he kicked scored with 2:46 remaining in the first half for a 3-1 Badger lead at thalftime.
Ursuline played more aggressive in the second half, but couldn’t cut into the lead until Kablan scored his second goal. The Irish trailed 3-2 with 9:27 remaining.
Badger struck back a few minutes later. Dunfee scored his second goal of the night to give the Braves a 4-2 lead with 5:24 remaining.
Martin had high praise for Kablan.
“He’s the best forward in the area as far as speed and ball skills. … We tried to control him, but he broke through twice.”
Ursuline coach Ned Seder joined in the praise for Kablan, saying, “He’s very quick.”
Seder said, “I’m very proud of my players. I can’t say enough thank you’s to them.
“The tradition at Ursuline is not just winning,” Seder added. “It’s also coming in spirit. And tonight we came in spirit, so this game was a win.”