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State power CVCA takes down Mooney
By Ryan Buck
STRUTHERS
The Cardinal Mooney boys soccer team annually plays one of the strongest schedules in the state of Ohio.
Their latest challenge came Tuesday night as state power Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy, the third-ranked team in the most recent state coaches poll, visited James Simon Sr. Soccer Park.
The Royals dispatched Mooney, 5-1, in dominating fashion.
Cardinals senior Nick Koken scored Mooney’s lone goal on a second-half penalty kick after CVCA controlled the ball, the tempo and the run of play throughout the second half.
“They’re really kind of robotic,” said Mooney coach Lou Cali. “They’re kind of the same team every year, they just change pieces. They’re extremely well-coached. They fly to the ball defensively; we had very little time on the ball. They’re very organized.
“It’s funny because with our game plan, the things that we wanted to do, they were doing.”
All five of the Royals’ goals were borne of creativity and precision.
The Cardinals (2-4-1) kept the potent CVCA offense at bay during the opening minutes.
With 13:15 left in the first half, the Royals (3-1-1) broke through.
Crisp passing into the attacking end from forward Cody Boerma led Ryan Winquist into an open shot to Mooney goalkeeper Dustin Hudak’s left. Winquist’s right-footed, far-post shot found the net for a 1-0 CVCA lead.
Trailing only 1-0 out of halftime, Cali wanted to see how his team would react.
“I felt we were in a good spot,” said Cali. “I knew they were going to make adjustments. I knew they were going to come out with a greater intensity and we just couldn’t keep up.”
Royals midfielder Daniel Chung terrorized the Cardinals with quick runs to goal, a keen eye for teammates and deft touches.
After Mooney defender Patrick Brennan prevented a Chung goal early in the half, the Royals came right back.
Chung put the Royals ahead 2-0 with 36:43 to go when Braden Petno found Chung charging the net for a one-touch shot.
With Hudak desperately trying to keep his team in the game — he was credited with seven second half saves as CVCA attempted 11 shots — the third goal ended much suspense.
Chung cleverly reversed his dribble at the top of Mooney’s 18-yard box and back-heeled a beautiful pass into the path of the goggled Ben Hobrath, who finished a precise sequence.
A clinical volley off a deflected corner kick header and another one-two sequence from substitute forwards capped the scoring.
“They have more depth than we do, they wore us down a little,” Cali said. “We didn’t hang our heads, but they got more confident and were able to out us away.”
CVCA, whose campus sits in Cuyahoga Falls, plays a schedule equally as daunting as Mooney’s and has a talent pool that rivals any private school in Ohio.
The Royals’ excellence stems from synergizing that talent.
“We played hard for each other, we found good spots to play into and we were able to finish some chances,” said coach Angelo Finelli.
“Mooney’s a really good, athletic team and they put a lot of pressure on [opponents], so we tried to prevent the pressure as quickly as possible. If you take too long they crunch you. We were able to play the ball to feet and transition really well.”