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Healed Price is right for Mooney
By Ryan Buck
Struthers
Cardinal Mooney senior soccer player Pat Price never envisioned spending most of his final season in red and gold cheering on his teammates from the bench.
After all, another run at the state soccer title was supposed to go through him.
“We make no bones about it,” Mooney coach Lou Cali said. “Every year our goal is the state title and this year is no different.
“Since last season, he was going to be the centerpiece of our team; on the attack, everything was going to go through him.”
Price, the rock in the Cardinals’ midfield, missed the first 12 games of the season with a knee injury sustained at the Adidas National Soccer Showcase in Strongsville in late July.
“I went to play a ‘through’ ball and when I hit the ball, my knee popped and I tore the inside of my left knee; I tore the meniscus,” Price said. “It really didn’t hurt that badly because it didn’t swell up.
“I stayed off it for two weeks, practiced for a week, went in and tried to play. Three minutes into a scrimmage it popped again. I actually got an MRI and found out I tore it.”
As Price slowly rebounded from mid-August surgery with grueling therapy and improving strength and fitness with on-field rehabilitation, Mooney struggled through a brutal schedule with a who’s who of soccer powers in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
“It’s been a rough year without him,” Cali said. “In my opinion, he’s the best player in the area. A lot of the college coaches I’ve talked to say the same thing.”
Price’s ability to control the flow of matches and create opportunities for Mooney’s potent offense was sorely missed.
“It hurt not having him in there,” said senior Byron Abrigg, who leads Mooney in scoring. “He just brings natural possession of the ball and pressure you don’t get without him. He’s had so much experience in the past and just changes the dynamics of the team on the field.”
Price finally made his season debut on Oct. 2 in Mooney’s loss to Upper St. Clair.
“Being able to go out on the field and play without pain was big for me,” Price said. “I was a little nervous but I guess everything worked out for the best.”
Since then, he’s scored twice and added two assists in wins over St. Thomas Aquinas, Howland, and archrival Ursuline on Sunday at Valley Sports.
Price recorded Mooney’s final goal in their 4-0 win over the Irish, on Senior Day no less.
“I’m pretty happy that I got to come back and play in the last game of the season and get the win,” Price said.
As Price returns to the form that’s made him one of the area’s best, so has Mooney.
“It’s funny because I’ve always been a believer that you want to be healthy going into playoffs, but I’ve never had the injuries that we’ve had this year,” Cali said. “I kept thinking, ‘This is absolutely atrocious. Maybe it’s not good to go through all this.’
“But it’s all about the playoffs. That’s what we gear for and I hope we can get fit. ”