Northview Titans Varsity Boys Game Summary
Centennial v. Northview, 2-2
April 15th
Game Conditions: 67 degrees at 8:03 pm game time
After a Senior Night presentation recapping five of Northview players' soccer histories and looking forward to their future, the Titans were introduced as a team, and charged onto the field in unison.
Goals were scored in the first minute and in the last minute, with each providing surprise and either excitement or disappointment, depending on which team you were part of. The match came down to the very end, the Titans driven by determination to give it all they had.
Only seconds after the opening kick-off, Northview was called for a foul at forty yards out on the left side. Centennial's free kick traveled toward the right post, where keeper Brian Luksis, amidst a quick flurry with attacking Knights, saw the ball loop up and arc toward the left post, and suddenly it was Centennial ahead, 1 - 0.
With a surprising deficit to overcome in the next 79 minutes, Northview played hard at midfield, as did Centennial, and neither team's offense could take hold.
The Titan defensive effort early in the game was led by Brian Colyer and David Cantor. Colyer broke up Knights' passing at 30 yards, and then found the Knights fouling him both while possessed the ball and challenged for free balls. David Cantor seemed to be everywhere in the Titan end of the field when it made a difference, shutting down passes and intercepting throw-ins, to bring the ball upfield for the Titans. Josh Carter owned a yellow card following a foul in the ninth minute, and on offense, the Titans found themselves whistled offside three times, and unable to find openings otherwise for quality shots.
Luksis made saves on shots from midrange, and came out of the penalty area to clear before Centennial attackers could possess on balls passed in from midfield. At the 34th minute, another Knight attack came near the right post, moved with Luksis out a few yards beyond the goal area as the Titan keeper worked for control, but the ball got free, and as it moved across the goal mouth with Titan defenders rushing back to assist, the ball struck off Colyer's foot and into the net, and the Knights had another goal notched for their side.
Just prior to the half, Carter made a fine block on a crossing shot at 5 yards from the end line on the right side to prevent any more mischief around the goal.
In the early minutes of the second half, Sayeed Mehrjerdian went down hard at midfield, but was able to return to play later. Cantor continued his defensive work in keeping the Knights away, and Jeremy Stille cranked up his speed to keep a play into the right corner from becoming a danger. Andrew Stoniecki made sure that the left side of the Knights attack brought no surprises, shielding the ball out on passes into the corner before attackers could reach it, and clearing when needed to avoid shots from the left corner.
The Titans found some offense early in the second half, with Andrew Cameron feeding a pass to Alex Alonso in the right corner of the Knights end; Alonso crossed the ball in, but the Knights keeper was able to snare it near the goal mouth. A few minutes later, Stille drove a shot in from the left side of the penalty area that went off the crossbar.
At 14 minutes in the half with Centennial attacking, Luksis came out to the penalty spot and hauled the ball in up high as one Knight and one Titan converged at the same moment in front of him. A minute after, BJ saved another shot from 10 yards out.
In the 19th minute, Andrew Cameron brought the ball in on the right side and from 35 yards crossed over to Jeff Scannella at 20 yards. Jeff drew the keeper to the left side and then buried the ball into the right side of the net from a sharp angle. The Titans were on the board, but still with a 1 - 2 gap to close.
At 23 minutes, Cameron broke free at 35 yards out, and Centennial's keeper came out to 15 yards against him and shut down the attack. The Titans got a corner kick but couldn't capitalize.
In the last 20 minutes of the match, the Knights and Titans committed fouls more frequently, mostly pushes and trips, with Centennial whistled eight times and Northview offending on six occasions (one with a yellow card attached to Alonso). After one such foul by Centennial just outside the penalty area, Alonso drove his free kick into the wall, and a shot off the rebound sailed high over the bar.
But it was the last foul that sent everyone home talking. With just seconds left on the scoreboard, the Titans had put the ball over the end line. Centennial's goal kick went to midfield. The Titan's possessed, and the ball came in to Jeff Scannella for one last Titan attack. Scannella circled in on the left side, crossed the yellow stripe into the penalty area, feet and bodies went flying. The referee whistled, sprinted in a few yards, and when his arm went out toward the penalty mark, the Titans' knew they held the outcome in their hands. Scannella made good on the penalty kick, the Titans came away with a 2 - 2 ending in the last regular season home game.
