WINNING STREAK ENDSDROP OUT OF FIRSTThe first match-up between these two sides (this is Triad Painting's first session) went much like it was expected to. SSL was coming off three straight wins including last sessions playoff & Triad was coming off a win & a tie with the tie being a 7-7 shootout. It was thought that this would be a good match, & it proved that it was indeed. As the match unfolded, the players were tightly marked, & one could see that it would be low scoring & played close to the vest. Each team was getting a feel for an opponent they'd never faced. After 12 minutes of the first half the score was still zero zero. That says all you need to know. Once again, as has been the recent theme of the Black Shirts, they started short on players with only 2 subs. That would be a factor late. As it was, the Black Shirts suffered from a missed opportunity early on, when, with the score still zero, zero, Joe Baer collected a ball at the top of the box, turned & headed the short distance to the goal. He was immediately met by two defenders & the keeper. At that moment, Baer, the defenders & the keeper all hit the turf with the ball careening into the back of the net. However, it was a "no goal", with a foul called on Baer. Shortly after, the Painters scored the first goal of the match to take a 1-0 lead on a nice shot from just outside the top right of the box. Then, once again, it was Baer with another opportunity. He collected the ball just outside the top right hand corner of the box, turned to his left, & let go a toe-ball that eluded the Painters keeper to his right, & knotted the score at 1 all. But that lead was short-lived as the Painters came right back to take a 2-1 lead on a nice shot by Craig Feltz from just outside the center of the box that just slipped over the outstretched arms of the Black Shirt keeper, John Kozuscek. That's the way the score remained all the way to the interval. For the first 10 minutes of the 2nd half, there was no scoring, just thrust & parry from both sides. Unfortunately for the Black Shirts, they had 3 shots carom off the post & back out into play, as well as withstanding a 2 minute penalty. The Painters keeper, meanwhile, played well, stopping everything close to him & giving no rebounds. Then things started happening for the Painters late. As fatigue started settling in to the Black Shirt side, the Painters were getting more wide open looks, mostly on counters. They finished on two of those, hitting perfectly placed balls into the exact same place, the bottom right hand corner of the goal, where the SSL keeper had no chance. That upped the Painters lead to 4-1, & it looked at that point that the match was over. But it wasn't. The Black Shirts found another gear. They continued to press the attack, out-chancing the Painters in the 2nd half, & peppering the goal with shots. In spite of how well the Painters keeper was playing, he couldn't stop everything the Black Shirts thru at him. Eventually Michael Hartsook found the back of the net out of a scrambe in front, narrowing the Painters lead to 4-2. There was still about four minutes left on the clock & the Black Shirts kept coming. Literally just a minute later, as the Black Shirts continued the pressure, Stewart Intagliata, on 2nd effort, placed one nicely behind the painters keeper, closing the gap to 4-3 with a little more than two minutes left in the match. Plenty of time. Still the Black Shirts applied the pressure. But, it was too little, too late & the tieing goal would elude them. As time ran off the clock & it ticked down to all zeros, they just could not find the back of the net, with the Painters keeper still playing large. Fatigue late in the match is what turned the tide for the Painters, who ran well the entire match, scoring their last two, big goals, on counters, when they had a lot of space. Even so, the Black Shirts had their chances, but just couldn't convert. The winning streak was over! As a result of this match, Triad Painting leap-frogged SSL to take over first place, relegating SSL to second place after three matches. Now it's up to SSL to take care of their own destiny if they want a chance to face the Painters again. They are not on the remaining schedule & the only chance to face them would be if both made it to the finals. So, stay tuned. A lot can happen in the next four weeks. Next week, SSL will face Lampert @ 9:25. In spite of their 0-2 record, they are always a dangerous side. You may recall, they were in the finals last session. So, SSL has their work cut out for them if they are to have any chance for a return to the finals. We hope to see you then. Thanks for reading. | SOCCER ST. LOUIS STATS O-40 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | NAME | | GAMES | GOALS | ASSISTS | POINTS | | | | STEVE RANKIN | | 3 | 5 | 1 | 11 | | | | GIANNI PENS | | 3 | 3 | 3 | 9 | | | | JOE BAER | | 3 | 2 | 4 | 8 | | | | KEN BRIGDEN | | 3 | 2 | 1 | 5 | | | | WALLY STOKES | | 3 | 0 | 1 | 3 | | | | STUART INTAGLIATA | | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | | | | MICHAEL HARTSOOK | | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | | | | JOHN KOZUSCEK | | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | Warning: Your facilities tie breaker rules and rankings may not follow the rules above. |
