One of the most dramatic parts of soccer is when a team is in pursuit of an equalizer goal late in the game, and their opponent is trying to hold on for victory. Then, as the contest nears its final conclusion, emotions intensify, and tension and pressure mount as a last-minute equalizer is pursued.
Match photos click here.
One of the most dramatic parts of soccer is when a team is in pursuit of an equalizer goal late in the game, and their opponent is trying to hold on for victory. Then, as the contest nears its final conclusion, emotions intensify, and tension and pressure mount as a last-minute equalizer is pursued.
Over the past decade, the WRC rivals Kenston Bombers and Chardon Hilltoppers boys soccer teams have competed in many of these fierce and highly intense one goal margin matches.
In fact, in three out of their last four head to head matches, the Bombers led late in the game by a slim one goal margin as the Hilltoppers pursued an equalizer.
For the third year in a row, the Bombers again denied their rival the equalizer as they went on to defeat the Hilltoppers, 3-2, on Sept. 9 at Chardon High School.
Bombers Head Coach, Michael Coney, said that he knew his team would be in for a very demanding, mental and physical challenge.
After both teams landed a goal in the first five minutes, the Bombers took a 3-1 lead, scoring two goals in the span of less than two minutes late in the first half.
Going into halftime leading 3-1, Coach Coney knew that it was not going to be easy to hold the lead. Thus, during intermission, he challenged his team to not let the Hilltoppers find the back of the net for the first 15-20 minutes of the second half.
“We knew that if they scored early in the (second) half, that would be problematic,” Coach Coney said. “We knew that it was going to be tough to keep them off the board, they’re a good team. But the later they scored, the better chance that we could hold on for that last (20 minutes).”
In the second half, junior Jesus Morales said that it took mental and physical toughness to deny the Hilltoppers the equalizer.
Morales noted that the second half was more intense and pressure filled as the Bombers tried to stop a highly energetic Hilltoppers side from getting the game-tying goal.
“We just had to fight it out,” said Morales. “They were physical. So we had to match that physicality, we had to match their energy, because they came out on fire. And they eventually got that goal (to make the score 3-2), but we hung tough.”
Junior Aiden Caspell further explained the Bombers mentality during the intense second half.
Caspell said that playing in the moment and staying calm, cool, and collected was key to the Bombers success.
“Defense is trying to get in your head,” Caspell said. “No matter what, you just got to shake it off and keep on trucking through it.”
Coach Coney was happy with how his team stayed mentally and physically tough in order to get the victory.
“Chardon and us have played literally three years in a row, one goal games, and we’ve been fortunate to be on the right side of it for us,” said Coach Coney. “We know their athleticism and physicality and they have some special players on their team, so any time you can come in here and pull out a victory the way we did, that’s special, because we know they are a very tough team.”
For the contest, the Bombers were led offensively by Caspell (1 goal), J.D. Crowley (1), and Morales (1).
Scoring for the Hilltoppers were senior captains Anthony Catania (1 goal) and Alex Monkiewicz (1).
Senior Evan Medved assisted on both of the Hilltoppers goals. The Hilltoppers then added six goals in their 6-1 victory over the Edgewood Warriors on Sept. 11.
Leading the Hilltoppers offensively over the Warriors were Medved (6 points – 2 goals, 2 assists), Will Monkiewicz (4 points – 1 goal, 2 assists), Dylan Schneier (3 points – 1 goal, 1 assist), Austin Seese (2 points – 1 goal), Luke Vucetic (2 points – 1 goal) and Alex Monkiewicz (1 point – 1 assist).
In addition to the Bombers boys beating the Hilltoppers on Sept. 9, the Bombers Girls Soccer Team also defeated the Hilltoppers on the same night at Bombers Stadium.
Cross town, a much different contest emerged as Bombers Media students, senior Andrew Fender and junior Wes Abrahamson brought us the play by play action on Boxcast TV.
The Bombers Girls Soccer Team defeated their rival, 4-1.
In this contest, the Bombers got out to an early 3-0 first half lead over the Hilltoppers.
After a scoreless start for the first 20 minutes, the Bombers took a 1-0 lead when senior captain Olivia Muzzio found the top right corner of the goal from 30 yards out.
Soon after, senior Reese Cochran scored on a penalty kick with 17:23 left in the first half to give the Bombers a 2-0 lead.
The Bombers scored their final goal of the first half when Cochran found the back of the net for the second time in less than five minutes, giving the Bombers a 3-0 lead heading into halftime.
The Bombers then took a 4-0 lead when sophomore Keira Walz scored with 34:56 left to play in the second half.
The Hilltoppers made the final score 4-1 when freshman Gia Oriani converted a penalty kick with 31:48 left in the contest. Oriani’s goal was her team leading 7th goal of the season.
The Bombers girls soccer team completed their week with a 2-1 victory over the NDCL Lions on September 13th. Muzzio and Cochran both found the back of the net against the Lions.
