Springfield Catholic – 3
Greenwood Bluejays – 1
In a game that is always entertains, the Irish ensured that the pecking order established by the recent State Coaches poll remained intact, finally wearing down their Northern neighbor with a pair of goals in the 2nd half that made the difference. Both teams came out in attack mode this evening, despite the sloppy conditions. The Irish drew first blood when sr Captain Justin Bowenschulte put a direct kick on goal from 26 yards out. Keeper Hawken Theime kept the ball out but the rebound was pounced on by Taylor Arens in the 28th minute.
Greenwood answered back quickly, with the finest goal I’ve seen this season. Sr Captain Chris Aiken sent jr Devin Whitlock down the right side and the forward sent a perfectly flighted shot, from a full run, over the keeper and into the back of the net with his shot from outside the box. 1-1 in the 37th and that’s were it finished at halftime (I’ve updated my Tweets which had incorrect times, it was an exciting game!).
Catholic sealed the win as they slowly wore down the visitors. The game-winner was scored by sr Captain David Bailey when he was left unmarked at the far post at the top of the 6 yard box. The real key to the play was the work of jr Taylor Arens who’s fine individual effort, moving away from the goal along the end line before turning and beating the defender before flighting his cross to the far poast allowed Bailey his simple tap-in. Catholic 2-1 in the 49th minute.
The final goal was scored by so. Luke Strauss who was sent down the left side by Reid Harbach’s simple but direct pass. Strauss was inexplicably allowed to run into the box, turn to his right across the face of the goal and unleash his shot, handcuffing keeper Thieme who played a superb game, including his block of a point blank shot in the 68th that kept the Jays close. The goal was scored in the 72nd.
Both teams played strong games, especially given the conditions, avoiding mistakes with consistent ball striking and a high work rate. As noted in the interview (video, featuring David Bailey and Justin Bowenschulte from Catholic) the game was worthy of a District game and the Jay’s underclassmen should benefit from the lessons learned in the highly charge environment tonight. An important game, but not the one that counts. Don’t miss the next one folks!
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