The players on the St. Anthony’s boys’ soccer team have had their eyes on the NSCHSAA final game all season, but they had to make it through the semifinals first. They did that on Wednesday, November 1st with a solid 3-0 victory over Kellenberg.
The Friars established their dominance early: junior Aidan Wilson broke through the Kellenberg defensive line in the first play and put the ball in the net, bringing the score to 1-0 in St. Anthony’s favor within the first 32 seconds of the game.
St. Anthony’s controlled the rest of the first half, with the Friars’ forwards keeping play around the Kellenberg penalty box and taking shot after shot in an attempt to score again. There were some close calls- another Aidan Wilson shot bounced off the inside post, while a lofty shot by Bryan Sierra was caught by the Firebird goalkeeper- but the score did not change again until the last 30 seconds of the half. Defender Matt Barresi sent the ball into the penalty box with a free kick from half field, and JJ Forster used the momentum to secure the Friars’ second goal.
The second half saw the Friars continue to take many shots, but the Firebirds stepped up their game in this half and they, too, created opportunities for their team to score. As a result, the players spent most of their time crowded around either the St. Anthony’s net or the Kellenberg net as the two teams traded possession.
For most of the second half, both sides’ attempts ended in frustrating near misses. All of the Firebirds’ shots were thwarted as one kick went high, another went wide, and several more were blocked by St. Anthony’s goalkeeper Rob Leamey. On the St. Anthony’s side, a shot by Michael Algieri flew just shy of the net, while another penalty kick by Matt Barresi went over the net. Finally, in the last ten minutes, St. Anthony’s forward Jevon Burke scored the third and final goal for the Friars.
The game ended with a final score of 3-0, with 9 saves by Kellenberg’s goalkeeper Nicholas D’Amato and 7 by St. Anthony’s Leamey. The victory secured St. Anthony’s spot in the NSCHSAA league finals on November 4th against Chaminade.
About The Author:
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Danielle D’Alonzo Danielle has run cross country and track since freshman year. She reads the sports section every day and also writes for school newspaper, The Paduan. Danielle is also a member of NHS, Math Honor Society and English Honor Society. |
