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Crestview falls to Chippewa in Div. III
By NICK SHOOK
Photo
Andrew Batchelor (7) of Crestview battles Chippewa’s Zach Beals for the ball during Tuesday’s match.
TWINSBURG
The dream season for the Crestview High boys soccer team ended on Tuesday night at Twinsburg High School.
In their first regional semifinal appearance, the Rebels fell to Doylestown Chippewa, 3-1, in a Division III game.
Chippewa captain Nick Vasilatos scored two goals to lead the Chipps to victory.
“They’re a good team, they passed the ball really really well, they used the sidelines very well,” Crestview coach Jon Kinkead said.
Vasilatos opened the scoring midway through the first half when he wisely used his head on a corner kick from teammate Neil Zook. Vasliatos’ header ended up in the upper left corner of the goal.
Chippewa appeared to take control of the game in the 67th minute of play when Vasilatos scored his second goal. Crestview goalie Derek Bable received defensive help from a teammate, but Vasilatos returned the block into the goal to extend the Chipps’ lead to 2-0.
Crestview wouldn’t go down without a fight, however, as junior Josh Schlueter was able to knock teammate Alex DeSalvo’s corner kick into the back of the goal to put the Rebels on the board.
That was all Crestview would muster, though, as Chippewa kept the Rebels out of the goal for the rest of the night.
The Chipps were able to extend their lead late in the game when Bable’s deflected save attempt landed in front of freshman Andrew Frank, who kicked the ball into the left corner of the goal for Chippewa’s third and final goal of the night.
The Inter Tri-County League champions were unable to keep up with Chippewa’s team speed, which ultimately led to their on-field demise.
“They have a couple guys up front that are super fast, really hard to shut those guys down,” Kinkead said.
Senior midfielder Tanner Goss attributed the team’s struggles to difficulties in the passing game.
“I guess our passing wasn’t just on in the box today,” Goss said. “Normally, we’re a little bit quicker around there.
“Our guys played their butts off,”he added. “I have no regrets in how we played.”
The final game for a senior class that led Crestview to its best season in school history didn’t go as planned, but Kinkead was thankful for the effort his seniors put in over the last four years.
“I knew from the moment that I saw them as freshmen that they were going to be a very good senior class,” Kinkead said. “... It doesn’t surprise me whatsoever that all my seniors are such strong soccer players and that we had such a strong season with their leadership.”
Although the Rebels suffered a season-ending loss, Kinkead was encouraged by the progress that the soccer program has made.
“For our program, this is a good building block, obviously,” Kinkead said. “Not just for the guys program, for the girls program, to get this experience ... just getting here, and seeing what goes on, seeing what we need to do to prepare ourselves better for next season, it’s a huge step in the right direction.”
Crestview finished the season with a 12-2-1 record.