Northview Titans Varsity Boys Game Summaries
Northview v. Chattachoochee 1-3
March 24th, 2006
Going against the #1 ranked team in AAAAA, the Titans had their hands full tonight, played tough, but came up short in a 1-3 loss.
Chattahoochee scored at 30 and 35 minutes on two close range shots after passing into open space. The Titans goal came at 53 minutes on a penalty kick by Brandon McCollum, and the Cougars matched that with their third score on a penalty kick two minutes later.
In the early going, Brandon McCollum and Stephen Gulia led the Titans in turning back several Cougar attacks, and the game was mostly played in midfield for the first six minutes. Chattahoochee’s first shot from 30 yards was a hard low ball saved by Titan keeper Will Whorton. That was followed with a low diving save by Whorton at 9 minutes on a crossing shot from the right side at 25 yards. The Titan defense maintained presence, even when the Cougars started to drive in to the corner, with Gulia stealing the ball cleanly and bringing it out, and Tanner Chamblin shutting down an attack at 20 yards. Whorton made his third save at 12 minutes by punching a ball over the bar that was fired from 35 yards.
As Chattahoochee began to find open spots, the Titans scrambled to fill in gaps; Tanner Chamblin sped back at 14 minutes to make a stop after the Cougars had a 1 on 2 break from 40 yards out. The Titans were called for several fouls in the first 20 minutes, including one that led to a four man wall at 25 yards; the wall gobbled up the free kick by the Cougars.
Northview’s offense had a few runs in the first half. Its first solid opportunity came at 17 minutes as AJ Johnson crossed a pass from 30 yards for Jeremy Stille, but the stingy Cougar defense stopped it. Twice more, the Titans couldn’t break in closer than 35 yards, then at 28 minutes, Sayeed Mehrjerdian was fouled on a yellow card offense, and the free kick by Gulia came to the right corner of the penalty area at the end line, but the Titans couldn’t get a clean shot with swarming defenders around them.
After Chattahoochee’s two scores 5 minutes apart, Northview created another chance to score. A free kick from 25 yards was bobbled by the Cougar keeper, and the ball came free. But again, Cougar defenders were able to clear and avoid any damage. Just before the halftime break, two Titans went down to the turf for 2 minutes and then had to leave the field. The injuries came as they defended after a yellow card to Stephen Glover for a trip at midfield. The Cougar free kick came into 12 yards and, in the fight for control, both Brandon McCollum and Tanner Chamblin were shaken up.
As the second half began, five fouls were called in the first three minutes, four of them on the Titans, including what appeared a tactical move by McCollum to shut down a Cougar attack. But it was hard to figure out how Mario Perazza earned a foul for a shoulder to shoulder charge when he had the ball near the touch line on an attack. Chattahoochee was able to attack only once in the first seven minutes, but deliberately worked the ball and waited for clear shots. Whorton saved one from 20 yards out and the second went wide left.
Both teams played aggressively for the balance of the game, and it showed in more ways than in skilled work. The second half saw a total of seven yellow cards, three each to Cougar players and Titan players, and one to the Chattahoochee coach, whose verbal tirade against the official after a Northview foul went too far.
Northview’s only GOAL came at 53 minutes, on a penalty kick by Brandon McCollum, after Andrew Cameron was dragged down and prevented from following the ball at 14 yards on a 1 on 1 situation. McCollum shot low and beat the Cougar keeper, notching only the third goal allowed by Chattahoochee all season.
Two minutes later, Chattahoochee was on the receiving end of the same type of action, and capitalized also. Stephen Gulia was hit while defending in the penalty area and no call was made, then a moment later Gulia was flagged for a push, and the Cougars were awarded a penalty kick, which they converted for a 3 -1 lead.
The Titans next attack forced a Chattahoochee clearing kick at one yard off the end line. The throw in was worked out to 25 yards, and Stephen Glover spirited thisTitan attack as he cracked a shot from there. The keeper dove and punched out for a corner kick, saving what otherwise would have been a Titan second score.
The Titan defense then kept the Cougars at bay for several more minutes, but Northview couldn’t penetrate the Cougar defense either. In the last 10 minutes of the match, each team challenged, yet the keepers had no further serious scares, and the final score remained 1-3.
