Game 10

Game 10 – 9/28/07
Rebels Second Half Surge Puts Principia Away 4-0

The Priory J.V. Soccer team took their five-game winning streak on the road on Friday afternoon. They faced another league opponent in Principia and the Rebels knew they would have to play well to earn a victory and protect their pristine league record. The Rebels started the game on the attack. They worked the ball around the Principia defense and played some dangerous balls into the box but they could not find a way to finish the early chances. After several early Rebel chances, the Principia defense switched to a flat four in the back and this frustrated the Rebel attack. Most of the remainder of the half was played in the middle of the field and neither team really managed to create many dangerous chances. The Rebels and their opponent exchanged a series of some long free kicks, but nothing materialized on them. The Rebels best chances in the half came on quick counterattacks in which the forwards would flick long balls onto each other and try to catch the defense off guard. However, the Principia defense had good speed and made these attacks difficult. In the Rebels’ end of the field, the defense played another steady half and goalkeeper Steve Hoerr was always there to diffuse dangerous situations with a nice save or play on the ball. As the final minutes of the half ticked away, the Rebels managed to build a really nice attack. James Kopfensteiner took a ball down the line and hit a ball across the box. Sean Lamb took control of the ball on the left side of the box and unselfishly laid it back to Liam Ware. Liam stepped up to the bouncing ball (like he had so many times in practice) and thumped it into the top corner of the net, almost a replay of the goal that he scored against Lutheran North earlier in the season. At halftime, the Rebels led 1-0.

In the second half, the Rebels picked up right where they left off and pounced on the Principia defense. The Rebel forwards and midfield really started to control the ball and find the holes in the Principia flat back four. Eventually Patrick Mulvihill and Sam Tankersley combined for one of the prettiest goals of the season. Tank made a pass to Patrick in the box who deftly played it back to Tank running through the side of the Principia box. Tank received the ball, took it to the line, and then crossed the ball to Patrick who put it into the back of the net. Before the dust settled from the Rebels’ second goal of the game, Tankersley was working his magic again. He played a nice through ball to Jack Wegman who had his man beat. Jack took a touch on the ball and then ripped a no-doubter into the bottom left corner of the net. 3-0 Rebels. The Rebels weren’t finished scoring just yet though. Less than a minute later Brendan Kelly found Tony Cribbin in the box. Tony fired a shot from a difficult angle, but it had so much on it that the keeper could not hold on and the Rebels had a 4-0 lead fifteen minutes into the half. The Rebels continued to play well for the remainder of the game and they were very calm and collected on the defensive side of the ball. Pedro stepped into the stopper role and showed that he could distribute the ball brilliantly and wouldn’t lose it without a fight. The Principia defense settled back into the game, but the Rebels still found some chances to score but couldn’t quite capitalize. Sophomore Brandon Wehking, usually a defensive player, had a brief stint at forward in the final minutes of the game. His best chance to score came off of a Ragen Frost corner kick, but Wehking’s attempt at a bicycle missed the ball and his hopes for offensive glory were extinguished. At the end of the game, the Rebels had earned an impressive 4-0 victory.

Goals: Ware (2), Mulvihill (4), Wegman (2), Cribbin (3)

Assists: Lamb (2), Tankersley 2 (5,6), Kelly (1)

Shutout: Hoerr (3)

Game Ball: Tankersley

Up next: Sat. Sept. 29 @ 11:00 a.m. @ Whitfield