WYNDMOOR, PA- After last season’s devastating last-minute loss in the Philadelphia Catholic League semifinal, the Explorers came out Thursday to set the tone for their new campaign. The goal this year, set by head coach Tom McCaffery, is to win the PCL.
The match started out with the Vikings in control.
“I thought we came out slow in the first half,” La Salle senior Spencer Patton explained. “I thought we struggled to pass the ball and get it wide.”
“Our strikers and our center midfielders were a little far apart.”
Both sides failed to have any attacking threat for the majority of the first half. Possession went back and forth with rarely anything coming of it.
In the second half, the game opened up with both teams getting their fair share of chances, but still no final product. It looked as if the match was heading for a scoreless draw until La Salle broke through with only minutes left.
Senior striker Zach Hogan was played through on a break-away and took a shot that was saved by Archbishop Wood goalkeeper Joe Cimino. The ball then fell to Spencer Patton, who calmly placed it into the net for a 1-0 victory, sending the team and home fans into rapture.
“When I ran up to the ball, that’s all I had to do. I didn’t need to be so powerful, didn’t have to swing through, just had to be really simple and pass it in. That’s just what I did and it felt great,” Patton said.
Last Spring, Patton, primarily an attacking midfielder or striker, committed to the University of Virginia for soccer. This season, coach McCaffery and his team are counting on him to lead them to the PCL.
La Salle, undefeated so far in their preseason, league, and non-league matches, take on Bonner-Prendergast at home Tuesday in their next PCL matchup.
