PHILADELPHIA – Roman Catholic remains very much alive as it attempts to defend its Catholic League championship.
The Cahillites, however, came dangerously close to being eliminated in the quarterfinals October 21 against a dangerous Lansdale Catholic squad.
That’s when junior Jared Fielding came to the rescue.
With the first overtime winding down, Fielding scored the goal of his life, a sudden-death tally that severed a scoreless tie in front of a sizeable crowd at Lighthouse Field. Needless to say, it’s a moment Fielding will never forget.
“Scoring that goal meant a lot to me,” said Fielding. “Before the overtime started, I was looking around at the faces of some of the seniors and could tell some of them were nervous considering that could have been their last game of their high school careers. So when the whistle blew for it to begin, I knew I had to step up my game and get this win for my team, especially the seniors.”
Roman coach Ray DeStephanis was classy in victory.
“What can you say about Lansdale Catholic?” he said. “The last four or five years now they've really come at us hard just about every time we played them. So, in essence, it wasn't a gigantic surprise that they took us right down to the wire and deep into the first overtime. They're a very big team, they have talent, and they're coached very well.”
The Cahillites, who finished as a third seed despite going undefeated against the Catholic League in the regular season (8-0-3 league), will face second-seed Father Judge Wednesday at the United German-Hungarian Club. Behind two goals by Sean McCormick and one by Davis Habilaj, the Crusaders dispelled Archbishop Carroll, 3-0, on October 21 at RAMP Playground and are one win away from advancing to the league final for the second straight season.
“We played well against a good Carroll team,” said Judge coach John Dunlop. “I feel very confident where the team is at right now."
Judge lost to Roman in last year’s final.
“We need to match their intensity because they apply a lot of pressure all over the field,” said Dunlop. “People are making a big deal about last year’s game. For us that was last year, and this year is a different team.
“We are healthy and focused on what we need for the game Wednesday. It's going to be a great game by both schools.”
Roman Catholic senior co-captain Matt Flanagan (along with teammates Artie Dolan, Seth Stangler, and Kieran Flaherty) described Lansdale Catholic as “tough” and “very structured,” but knows that the next challenge figures to even more difficult.
“We were determined to keep our season going,” said Flanagan. “This next game versus Judge is the biggest game. We really have to focus and come to play. They are very tough and have very talented players. We just have to come out to play.”
Flanagan said the expectations for a defending champion tend to be a bit daunting.
Roman vs. SJP
“It’s a great feeling, but it also means we have a target on our back,” said Flanagan. “There is no easy game. Everybody wants to plays us. They all want to come out and beat the defending champions and make a statement to the league. It is a lot of pressure. We just have to put that aside and play our game.”
Like Roman Catholic, shutout goaltending and strong defense helped power Archbishop Wood past Archbishop Ryan, 4-0, on October 21. The Vikings will meet top-seed La Salle October 26 at the United German-Hungarian Club. The Explorers beat St. Joseph’s Prep, 2-0.
Wood turned a 1-0 lead at halftime into a route, buoyed by Mike Smith’s three goals, three R. J. Liszewski’s three assists, and a combined shutout by Joe Cimino (seven saves, several difficult) and Connor Ford (two).
(John Knebels can be reached at jknebels@gmail.com or on Twitter @johnknebels.)
See below for All-Catholic lists:
*SPENCER PATTON LA SALLE SR. FWD.
*SEAN MCCORMICK JUDGE SR. FWD.
ARTHUR DOLAN ROMAN SR. DEF.
R.J LISZEWSKI WOOD SR MF
JARED DILLON ROMAN SO. FWD
MIKE SMITH WOOD SR. FWD
JOSH YURASITS LANSDALE SR. MF
JOHN LODISE JUDGE SR. DEF
SEAN PALMER RYAN SR. DEF
JAMES HUGHES LA SALLE SR. DEF
VITO VINCENT CARROLL SR. DEF
CHRIS HIBBS SJ PREP SR. FWD
GEORGE MONTAG RYAN JR. MF
NOAH SABA LANSDALE SR. FWD
DAVIS HABILAJ JUDGE SR. DEF
BRETT WERNER LA SALLE JR. GK
(* - denotes ALL-STATE)
ZACH HOGAN LA SALLE SR. FWD
ANDREW MARKOPOULOS BONNER SO. DEF
MATT FLANAGAN ROMAN SR. MF
MATT COSTANZO EGAN SR. FWD
SEAN HARNEY WOOD SR. DEF
THEO IJEBOI BONNER SR. FWD
SETH STANGLER ROMAN SR. DEF
DAN EHRLICH MCDEVITT SR. MF
ADAM NORK JUDGE SR. MF
CHARLIE SHEEHAN O’HARA JR. DEF
COLIN DONNELLY PREP SR. DEF
SAM FREDERICK CARROLL SR. DEF
WILLIAM STACKHOUSE RYAN JR FWD
MATT NOTI LANSDALE SR. MF
MIKE D’ANGELO LA SALLE SR. MF
JACK KANE LANSDALE SR. GK
KEVIN CONROY RYAN SR. MF
ED SLOAN WOOD SR. MF
KAITO KITAZAWA BONNER JR MF
JARED FIELDING ROMAN JR MF
MIKE POWER JUDGE SR. FWD
KIERAN FLAHERTY ROMAN SR. FWD
ANTHONY BOYLE LA SALLE SR. MF
NICK BOOTH CARROLL JR. FWD
DYLAN ULSHAFER JUDGE SR. MF
JOE NESTEL BONNER SR. DEF
CONOR BATTIN PREP SR. DEF
SEAN KEARNEY CARROLL SO. DEF
JAMES NATALE LA SALLE SR. DEF
KYLE BUDGICK O’HARA JR. MF
JOE DUDDY MCDEVITT SR. DEF
TJ CORCORAN JUDGE SR. GK
Tag(s): Home Schools Philadelphia Catholic Soccer Boys Soccer Philadelphia Catholic League Arch. Carroll Boys Soccer Arch. Ryan Boys Soccer Arch. Wood Boys Soccer Bishop McDevitt Boys Soccer Bonner & Prendie Boys Soccer Cardinal O'Hara Boys Soccer Conwell-Egan Boys Soccer Father Judge Soccer La Salle Soccer Lansdale Cath. Boys Soccer Neumann/Goretti Boys Socce Roman Catholic Soccer Saint Joseph's Prep Soccer