Northview Titans Junior Varsity Boys Game Summary

Chattahoochee v. Northview 0-1
March 24th

"Where in Hades has this team been for the first half of the season?" - Coach Folds (3.25.05)

We're not sure, but they were definitely at Northview on Thursday night! Although it began like an "old friend's night", with plenty of boys playing on the same club teams, old friendships were temporarily forgotten as the noted rivalry between the Titans & Cougars became apparent.

The Titans started well & within 90 seconds Russell Bradford broke through on the right hand side to get off a hard shot on goal but the Cougars' goalkeeper came off his line quickly to make a good save.

After 4 minutes, the Cougars took a free kick from inside their own half which was headed clear by Josh Dunn. A couple of minutes later the Cougars won the first corner and it was cleared by the Titans. In the 13th minute, a Cougars' throw-in was intercepted by Steve Kim & this led to a Titan break but the 'Hooch keeper came out quickly to collect. On the quarter hour mark, the Cougars tried first a long shot on goal & then followed up with a cross from the right which was headed over.

Minutes later it was the turn of the Titans put the pressure on with Jason Alwes, Russell Bradford, Pall Kornmayer, Sam Bevan, Josh Dunn & Steve Kim all involved before the Cougars could eventually bring the ball out to safety. The Cougars won a corner in the 22nd minute but they headed wide. Tyler Dewitt then played a nice through ball to Alex Tertichney but the 'Hooch keeper once again quickly came off his line to stop the danger. The Titans kept pressing forward & Steve Kim managed a shot which was stopped. In the 26th minute Josh Taylor and Chase Collier entered the game and shortly thereafter the Titans had a wonderful chance as Josh broke through the defense but again the keeper rushed out to dive at Josh's feet to make a great save. The Cougars' counterattack was broken up with some good defensive work by Ramu Annamalai.

In the 31st minute, the Cougars nearly took the lead with a 35 yard shot that beat Aaron Kim but it hit the crossbar. The Titans were under pressure for the last few minutes of the half but all-in-all, it had been fairly equal.

Josh Taylor replaced Steve Kim up front at the start of the 2nd half and the substitution immediately paid off. Within 75 seconds Russell Bradford broke down the right wing & took the ball near the corner flag. He crossed the ball toward Josh at the back post & as the ball went over the keeper's outstretched hands it dropped into the bottom corner of the net. Josh could have helped the ball across the line but he left it so that Russell could get credit for the goal.

Titans 1 - 0 Cougars

The level of play intensified & the Cougars broke down the left wing only to be stopped after an excellent tackle by Tyler Dewitt. The Cougars kept on advancing forward but the Titans' defense held firm, allowing Pall Kornmayer, Jason Alwes & Alex Tertichney to bring the ball out of defense & counterattack. The Cougars began to look for the equalizer & in the 44th minute, the Titans defended frantically & gave away a corner. The in-swinging corner was headed clear & the Cougars tried a speculative shot from 30 yards which went right. Following a foul by the Titans, the Cougars' free kick went across the field to a defender who lost the ball to Russell Bradford whose center was cleared, but only as far as Sam Bevan. Sam played it to Alex, on the right wing, who gave it to Josh Taylor who was stopped by a good sliding tackle. Alex threw the ball to Cameron Greenberg but eventually the Cougars cleared the ball. They were 15 minutes into the 2nd half & the Titans were playing well but Chattahoochee was always dangerous on the break away. After 57 minutes, Steve Kim passed to Jason Alwes who centered for Ross Cantrell but he was just beaten to it by a defender who cleared for the throw-in. Jason received the ball from the throw-in; however, his cross was caught by the keeper, whose long clearance into the Titan's half was headed clear by Ramu Annamalai.

In the 61st minute, Ramu was adjudged to have fouled a Cougar player 10 yards outside the penalty area. This spelled danger for the Titans, but the free kick went wide right. Ramu made amends two minutes later as the Cougars broke down the left wing & their shot hit the side netting. The resulting goal kick was intercepted by a Cougar player who dashed towards the goal but, thankfully, Ramu stopped him. In the 65th minute, Steve Kim passed to Jason Alwes who won a throw-in which he took himself. He threw the ball to Russell whose shot was saved by the keeper bravely dashing out. The Titans recovered the ball & a long throw in went to Ross Cantrell but his shot just missed the target.

Northview knew the clock was running down & began to play the long ball into the Cougar half to relieve the pressure on their defense. Nevertheless, with under two minutes left, Chattahoochee had one more chance but they put the ball over the crossbar.

In summary, Chattahoochee had looked more organized & disciplined with some good passing in midfield but Northview's defense were up to the task whenever the Cougars attacked. The Titans were the more dangerous offensively & only several excellent saves by the Cougars' goalkeeper stopped the Titans as they stormed into the penalty area.

Titans 1 Cougars 0 (Zero, Nada, Nil)