Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009

Strong second half propels South soccer to quarterfinals

In the quest for a third consecutive appearance in the Kansas 6A title game, Olathe South's boys soccer squad seemed poise to dominate its Northeast regional 2 championship match Friday when senior Trey Bristow and freshman Clay Stewart notched goals in the opening 11 minutes.

But Shawnee Mission South countered with three goals in a five-minute span, surging to a 3-2 halftime lead at the Olathe District Activity Center.

“Some teams would have folded giving up two goals with the wind at their back, so credit Shawnee Mission South,” Falcons coach Will Stoskopf said. “They came right back at us and we let down a little. The bottom line is we need to maintain focus the whole time we're on the field and not let up when we feel comfortable.”

In the end, the Falcons managed to dominate nonetheless thanks to a four-goal second half — and no defensive letdown, advancing to the 6A quarterfinals with a 6-3 victory.

“I just kept telling myself, 'This cannot end like this. We at least have to make it out of the regional and have a shot at state,'” said Bristow, who scored two goals and assisted on the game-winner. “I kept telling myself that no matter what, even if I had to do something about it, we were going to end up winning this.”

South couldn't have gotten off to a better start.

Senior Brad Barclay made a run into the box on the left side and sent a cross behind Bristow and freshman Ryan Hill, who corralled the ball at the far post and centered back for junior Trevor Pentola.

Pentola's rip from just inside the top of the box was knocked down, but spun right to Bristow, who pounded home the game's first goal.

Barely eight minutes later, Barclay slithered through a host of Raiders defenders, beating the last defender with a nutmeg tap before slotting a ball to freshman Clay Stewart for a one-timer into the goal's upper left corner.

The tide turned on a penalty kick by Asher Herbert at the 19:24 mark, which started SM South's furious rally. Senior Austin Garvey and freshman David Leichty added goals for a 3-2 lead.

“We weren't as intense as those first 20 minutes, but we came back strong in the second half,” Pentola said. “Stos (coach Stoskopf) said we weren't in such a terrible situation, because we were only down one and we knew we were the better team. We just kept playing our game and the goals came.”

Bristow tied the game at the 34:47 mark in the second half, blasting a 22-yard free kick past SMS goalkeeper Blaine Anspaugh inside the far post after fakes by junior Brett Robertson and Stewart.

Six minutes later, South reclaimed the lead when Bristow outran the defense to a long clearance by senior Andrew Garcia.

He took a dribble and appeared to line up a shot for the far post but instead pushed the ball to the middle, where Barclay beat a pair of defenders and tapped the go-ahead goal past Anspaugh. He then leapt into Bristow's arms to celebrate the 4-3 lead.

“Before I even got a touch on the ball, I took a glance to the left just to see if I had a second option,” Bristow said. “I was planning to dribble in and rocket a shot across to the post, but then Brad, who had been behind three players, kicked it in and turned his speed on. When I noticed that, I thought, 'He has a way better angle than me and he's making a hard run,' so I just tapped it over. I still don't know how he outfought the keeper and got it in, though.”

Sophomore Nate Opperman added an insurance goal at the 6:38 mark, while Pentola rocketed in a 30-yarder 97 seconds later to ice the Falcons' win and ensure a quarterfinal berth.

Northeast regional 2 championship

OLATHE SOUTH 6, SM SOUTH 3

SM South (Asher Herbert, Austin Garvey, David Leichty), Olathe South (Trey Bristow 2, Clay Stewart, Brad Barclay, Nate Opperman, Trevor Pentola). Records: SMS 11-7, OS 15-3.

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