By: Michael Walsh
PHILADELPHIA –Roman Catholic Soccer was able to advance to its fifth consecutive PCL title game with a convincing 3-0 win over St. Joseph’s Prep. After a slow start from the top seeded Roman their veteran players were able to corral the Cahillites to a victory with goals from Eric Williams, Kevin Davis, and Mark Iannacone. Coach Ray DeStephanis was pleased with the way his squad performed and was happy they were able to close out the win even when starting with a 2-0 lead.
“When you’re up two it’s the worst lead in soccer because you sit back, maybe, too much and credit to our guys because we didn’t until we got the third [goal] and then we really sat back,” said DeStephanis. “These kids understand how meaningful this game was and where it will help us with our next opponent.”
Williams highlighted his ability to be opportunistic scoring off another players miss to get the lead rolling. Williams is looked upon as a leader of this Roman team and understands his role in motivating his teammates.
“I think scoring goals definitely makes my teammates excited,” said Williams. “We were able to play the ball really well and our position led us to big moments where we scored.”
St. Joseph’s Prep may have lost the game but head coach Joe Coyle knows the importance of a game for the future of the program. He reflected on how he thinks this type of outing can help develop players mentally for next year.
“They see our [seniors] and see how they are every minute guys, which means they play every minute of every game, and that really shows what we expect from our players,” said Coyle. “Our season started on January 3 and ended on Wednesday night so that goes to show the type of commitment these guys put in.”
Roman Catholic will play Archbishop Wood in the PCL final.
