Boys Soccer: Late Game Heroics Help O’Hara Steal Win at Bonner
DREXEL HILL, PENNSYLVANIA – After Sean Noonan’s shot found the back of the net in double overtime Tuesday night, the Cardinal O’Hara students watching from the sideline rushed the field to celebrate. A mere twenty-five minutes prior to the goal, such an ending seemed unlikely.
Bonner-Prendergast junior forward Theophilus Ijeboi protects the ball from Cardinal O’Hara senior Nick Randazzo.- PSD Photo
Trailing 1-0 in the dwindling minutes of the second half against Monsignor Bonner, Cardinal O’Hara’s prospects of winning its first game seemed to diminish with every second that ticked off the clock. The Lions were aggressive on the attack, desperately trying to tie the game Tuesday night.
“I put three in the back and brought everybody up,” O’Hara head coach Kevin Curley said. “I figured if you lose one to nothing or two to nothing it doesn’t matter.”
After attempting a corner kick that was successfully defended by Bonner, the Lions were awarded a throw-in. Then they got the lucky bounce they were looking for. After the ball was cleared into the middle of the field by a Friars defender, Lions senior captain Mark Switliski took a shot off his left foot. The ball took a deflection, changing directions before hitting the top left corner of the net to tie the game with less than one minute left.
After a scoreless ten-minute overtime period, ten more minutes of extra time were played. In the seventh minute of the second extra time period, Noonan fired a shot from the right side of the eighteen-yard box to give the Lions a 2-1 victory.
During the first half of the game, the Friars controlled most of the possession and generated more chances to win. Bonner capitalized on a scoring chance in the 26th minute. After an O’Hara corner kick opportunity was cleared to midfield, Friars senior forward Ryan Kerrigan ran down the center of the field on the attack. After running towards the left sideline, Kerrigan cut back towards the middle into the eighteen-yard box and scored.
Curley was unhappy with his team’s play during the first half.
“I challenged them at halftime because they weren’t giving the effort and I got nothing but effort the rest of the game,” Curley said.
The Lions generated more offense in the second half, nearly tying the game in the 41st minute. The goalkeeper deflected senior, Nick Randazzo’s shot, but the ball rested near the goal line until it was cleared. Bonner head coach Jim Strandberg felt his team played well in the second half, but was not as aggressive as it was in the first half.
“We still played well in the second half,” Strandberg said. “We had a few free kick and corner kick opportunities. I thought we stopped being aggressive at some point in the second half.”
O'Hara's 2015 Men's Soccer Team - PSD Photo
When junior midfielder Clifton Bach left the game with an injury late in the second half, Strandberg had to rotate different players in the defense. Bach did not return to the game, but should be able to play Thursday against McDevitt, said Strandberg.
Converting chances will be key for the 0-6 Friars Thursday.
“We have to play defense first and counter off of that,” Strandberg said. “Creating chances and capitalizing on them is the biggest challenge.”
O’Hara’s win improves its record to 1-6. After six straight losses, Curley reflected the Lions’ excitement about their win,“It feels amazing.”