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Photos Kevin Mullaney
Junior midfielder Nate Rice goes high for a header. Freshman Tyler Savonen (at far right) looks for the pass. |
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Junior defender Paul Wallace heads the ball upfield. |
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Kickers quashed in quarterfinal heartbreaker
By Kevin Mullaney
Banner Correspondent
It couldn’t have been closer — and it took two overtimes and then, ultimately, the deciding penalty kicks. But in the end it was the Nauset boys soccer team that was sent home for good after its Div. 2 South Sectional quarterfinal match against Walpole, at Walpole, last Wednesday.
First, only 74 seconds remained when midfielder Mike Quigley found the back of the net, tying the game at one. Then, after 80 minutes of regulation and through two scoreless, 10-minute sudden death overtime periods, with darkness descending, the teams lined up for penalty kicks — a resolution to 100 grueling minutes of soccer battle the Warriors were confident would go their way. But it didn’t. Tied with two apiece after five rounds of penalty kicks, Walpole eked out the win on the sixth, 3-2, giving them a 2-1 victory.
“Losing the way we did took the life out of me and my players,” said Nauset coach John McCully. “It’s difficult to handle, being that close to moving on [in the tourney].” McCully and his players felt confident going into the penalty kicks, something they spend a lot of time practicing, even trying to re-create game conditions by waiting until the end of practice. They were exhausted, but they were ready.
“The six that took shots played the whole game,” McCully said. “Like anything else, they had chances — one hit the post, one was not hit well.”
McCully said the key was to get a good start.
“I’m happy the way we came out. We played with a lot of energy. We were dangerous,” he said. “We got a couple of chances early.” After a scoreless first half, Walpole scored 14 minutes into the second after some prolonged offensive pressure. Nauset goalkeeper Brett Conrad had made several nice saves, including on a penalty kick in the first half, and would make a few more before the tightly played marathon was over. Every touch of the ball was a battle.
“We try to possess ball more. They’re more direct,” McCully said of the differences in style. “They had better opportunities, but we had some opportunities as the minutes wore down,” he said.
He moved into a 3-4-3 — with three men forward — after the Walpole score.
“We started taking chances,” he said.
With seven minutes left he went to a four-man attack. “The last 15 minutes was all us. Finally, Quigley found a way.”
“Quigley was dangerous all day long, a fantastic game,” said McCully, who also praised the play of Conrad in goal, stopper Chris McEnaney and senior midfielder Mark Monroe. “My 80-minute guys,” he called them. “They play with a lot of heart, energy, determination and passion for the game. They played great all year,” he said. All four were named to the ACL All Stars first team.
“We had to replace seven starters from last year’s team, so we did well,” he said of the year as a whole. “Certainly it’s a blessing to make the tourney. I wanted more success for the kids,” he added, “but we were fortunate. They’re a great bunch of kids.”
Nine starters will return from this year’s team.
“We’ve got a lot to look forward to,” he added.
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PHS Sports
Nauset Sports |
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Nov 15th, 2007