Northview Titans Varsity Boys Game Summaries
Northview v. Norcross Blue Devils 0-2
February 23, 2007
This was the first decent night, weather wise, of the Titans’ young season with it being a very pleasant 57F by the time the game got under way. The kick-off having been delayed by the Varsity Girls extended penalty shoot-out win.
The team kicked-off in a 4-4-2 formation with the starting line-up being:-
Carter Rhoad
Tanner Chamblin Caulin Collier Jarrod Nesser Sam Bevan
Jimmy Mitchell Jacob Lee Stephen Glover Pall Kornmayer
Russell Bradford Eric Carrion
The only change from Tuesday’s starting line up was that Carter Rhoad was making his varsity debut in goal. In typical fashion, Carter wore his lucky shoes that don’t match – he has another pair just like them at home!
Northview were defending the TitanTron end of the field as Norcross kicked-off, however, the Titans were soon on the attack down the right wing as Jimmy Mitchell passed to Stephen Glover for an early test of the Blue Devils goalie. After 80 seconds, Jacob Lee was called for a foul near the half way line and from the free kick the referee called another foul on the Titans just outside of the penalty box. Carter Rhoad easily caught the second free kick and threw it out to Pall Kornmayer who passed to Jacob Lee. Jacob tried to find Jimmy Mitchell on the right wing but Jimmy, who was valiantly trying to fight off some flu bug, was already struggling and his night was finished after just two minutes. Dan Schwartz replaced Jimmy. It was apparent very early on that Norcross were a skilful team who were going to present the Titans with some problems as Northview began to be called for fouls.
In the 7th minute, the Titans’ two freshmen performed well and had a shot towards goal by Dan Schwartz after Eric Carrion had crossed the ball from the left wing. Norcross players continued to go down rather easily and a couple of minutes later there was some pushing and shoving in front of the Norcross bench which ended up with the coach being unhappy with the referee. There were some good tussles in midfield where Jacob Lee and Stephen Glover were more than holding their own but, in the 12th minute, Norcross brought the ball out of midfield and forced Sam Bevan to clear the ball for throw-in. The throw was a long one which went over the heads of the first two Titan defenders and a Norcross forward ran in behind them to give Carter Rhoad no chance and the Norcross Blue devils led 1 – 0.
Although it was not a dirty game, the Blue Devils had won plenty of free kicks but in the 14th minute the referee considered giving the Titans a free kick outside of the box but, on this occasion, allowed advantage. Dan Schwartz broke through with Russell Bradford and Eric Carrion and as he fed the ball to Eric, Eric was fouled outside of the box and the ball deflected back to Dan whose shot went high and wide. On the quarter hour mark there was some good movement by the Titans which resulted in Jacob Lee being fouled
15 yds. outside of the box. Stephen Glover’s free kick was wide of the goal. Jarrod Neser made a good defensive play but, with the Blue Devils looking as though they had been trained by Greg Louganis, they won another free kick. Frankly, the diving was excessive and something that the talented Blue Devils did not need to resort to, but it was effective. Northview could not win a break and this was epitomized in the 21st minute when a Northview player was fouled near the Norcross bench however the ball broke free for the Titans and as the forwards chased towards the goal the whistle went and the play was called back without any advantage being allowed.
The Blue Devils were winning all the 50/50 balls so something needed to be changed and Josh Taylor and Steve Kim came on after 22 mins. With 25 mins gone the Titans were lucky to escape when a free kick was awarded to the Blue Devils 5yds outside of the penalty area on the right side. From the free kick the Blue Devils captain headed over the Titans’ crossbar. The Titans had their own opportunity in the 28th minute as Josh Taylor played the ball along the edge of the penalty area but he couldn’t get off a shot. Dan Schwartz was causing some trouble for Norcross with his speed and aggression on the right wing and he won a throw-in near the Norcross penalty area. Jarrod Neser’s throw was headed over by Sam Bevan. The Titans won a corner in the 32nd min and Jacob Lee’s cross was shot wide by Eric Carrion. With 5 mins left in the first half, Norcross attacked down the left wing but Tanner Chamblin shielded the ball well to allow Carter Rhoad to dash out of goal and dive at the feet of the Norcross forward. Tanner was again called in to action shortly thereafter and he managed to break up a very dangerous 2 on 1 break just outside of the Titan box.
Ramu Annamalai came on for the second half. The Titans immediately went on the attack and Caulin Collier, Dan Schwartz, Russell Bradford, Jacob Lee and Sam Bevan were all involved in a move which ended with the Norcross goalie punching the ball clear. The first ten minutes of the second half saw much better play from Northview who were playing more aggressively and winning the 50/50 balls. After ten minutes of the second half a move began with Russell Bradford feeding the ball to Dan Schwartz who was fouled close to the penalty area. Tanner Chamblin took the kick but the Norcross defense headed out to Jarrod Neser. Jarrod passed to Stephen Glover who gave it to Ramu Annamalai on the wing. Ramu’s cross fell to Jacob Lee but when he was tackled by a defender, the free kick went against him. The Norcross team won several more free kicks and in the 56th minute a yellow card was awarded to Jacob Lee when a Norcross player was deemed to have been fouled.
In the 64th minute, Carter Rhoad caught the ball two yards from the touchline and was fouled by a Norcross forward. Carter kept possession of the ball and went towards the edge of the penalty box to punt the ball clear and begin a Northview attack. Strangely, the referee decided to call the foul so the Titans got a free kick back near their goal line and any advantage was lost. A minute later Stephen Glover beat a defender and crossed to Pall Kornmayer but his header was saved by the goalie. The Titans were pushing forward looking for an equalizer and with 12 minutes left Jarrod Neser’s throw was headed down by Sam Bevan. The goalie dived full length to tip it around the post. Russell Bradford took the corner but Eric Carrion’s shot rebounded back to Russell who then played it to Tanner Chamblin, pushing up from defense. Tanner found Jacob Lee and he gave it to Stephen for another shot on goal. With 70 minutes gone Jacob played a great through ball for Eric Carrion and just as Eric was about to shoot a Blue Devils defender made an excellent lunge to knock the ball away from Eric. In the 76th minute Russell Bradford was brought down outside of the penalty area and Sam Bevan’s shot on goal was saved by the goalkeeper. Two minutes were left when Josh Taylor’s through ball to Pall Kornmayer on the left side of the box saw Pall’s shot beat the goalkeeper but also go agonizingly wide. With 90 seconds left Norcross had a break and when the assistant referee kept the offside flag down, Norcross scored a second goal.
Final score: Northview Titans 0 – 2 Norcross Blue Devils
