Post by PutMeInCoach2 on Feb 27, 2005 11:03:37 GMT -6
From nola.com
Jesuit twice comes back, wins crown in Division I
Sunday, February 27, 2005
By Pierce W. Huff
Staff writer
Jesuit's perfect season seemed destined to end this way.
The Blue Jays' match against Lafayette for the boys Division I state soccer championship couldn't result in an easy victory, or the 5,000 Jesuit fans in blue and white wouldn't have had anything to keep them standing on the metal bleachers at Tad Gormley Stadium.
And Jesuit had to fight back from deficits twice in the second half against Lafayette; the Blue Jays had made comebacks their speciality this season.
Jesuit defeated Lafayette 3-2 in overtime Saturday, for its second Division I state championship in three years, by doing something it had been doing all season: finding ways to win.
"The season couldn't have ended a better way," Jesuit senior forward Wayne Pierce said.
Jesuit (30-0-2), ranked fourth in the nation and first in Region II in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/adidas ranking, finished with a 21-match winning streak.
The match was the third consecutive Division I finals between the schools. Lafayette defeated Jesuit 1-0 to win the state championship last year.
Saturday's match was another thriller.
Jesuit senior Brandon Retif scored the -winning goal in the first minute of the two 10-minute overtime periods when he got a crossing pass from forward Travis Barbara in the middle of the penalty box and blasted a sliding volley past Lafayette goalkeeper Daniel Johnson.
"This team refused to lose," Jesuit coach Hubie Collins said.
And to prove it, Jesuit rallied from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits against Lafayette, a team which it defeated three times this season.
Jesuit midfielder Brandon Chagnard, who entered the match in the second half, scored both tying goals. Chagnard tied the score 1-1 when hegot a high ball in the penalty box, settled it down and smashed a left-footed shot that hit inside the left corner of the goal between the upright and post, bounced to the ground and ricocheted into the net in the 59th minute.
But Lafayette took a 2-1 lead when forward Joey Belfour slid a shot into the left corner on a penalty kick in the 61st minute. The penalty kick came when Lafayette's Eric Ellender made a run down the left side and was fouled by Jesuit defender Stephen Duncan in the penalty box.
Jesuit then went on the attack, pushing its players forward and kicking the ball into the Lafayette side. During injury time, Jesuit forward Reece Thomas made a run down the left side and was tackled in the penalty box by Lafayette defender Wyatt Hubble resulting in a penalty kick. Belfour and teammate Kevin Carter received yellow cards for protesting with officials after the call.
Chagnard said he didn't think he was going to have to take the kick, but Pierce, Jesuit's captain, volunteered him for the play.
"It was nerve-racking, of course," Chagnard said.
But Chagnard, the game's Outstanding Player, tied the score at 2 when he stroked a penalty kick past Johnson into the right corner.
Lafayette coach Duaine Belfour disagreed with the call.
"I thought the referees did an awful job," he said. "The better team didn't win."
Jesuit twice comes back, wins crown in Division I
Sunday, February 27, 2005
By Pierce W. Huff
Staff writer
Jesuit's perfect season seemed destined to end this way.
The Blue Jays' match against Lafayette for the boys Division I state soccer championship couldn't result in an easy victory, or the 5,000 Jesuit fans in blue and white wouldn't have had anything to keep them standing on the metal bleachers at Tad Gormley Stadium.
And Jesuit had to fight back from deficits twice in the second half against Lafayette; the Blue Jays had made comebacks their speciality this season.
Jesuit defeated Lafayette 3-2 in overtime Saturday, for its second Division I state championship in three years, by doing something it had been doing all season: finding ways to win.
"The season couldn't have ended a better way," Jesuit senior forward Wayne Pierce said.
Jesuit (30-0-2), ranked fourth in the nation and first in Region II in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/adidas ranking, finished with a 21-match winning streak.
The match was the third consecutive Division I finals between the schools. Lafayette defeated Jesuit 1-0 to win the state championship last year.
Saturday's match was another thriller.
Jesuit senior Brandon Retif scored the -winning goal in the first minute of the two 10-minute overtime periods when he got a crossing pass from forward Travis Barbara in the middle of the penalty box and blasted a sliding volley past Lafayette goalkeeper Daniel Johnson.
"This team refused to lose," Jesuit coach Hubie Collins said.
And to prove it, Jesuit rallied from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits against Lafayette, a team which it defeated three times this season.
Jesuit midfielder Brandon Chagnard, who entered the match in the second half, scored both tying goals. Chagnard tied the score 1-1 when hegot a high ball in the penalty box, settled it down and smashed a left-footed shot that hit inside the left corner of the goal between the upright and post, bounced to the ground and ricocheted into the net in the 59th minute.
But Lafayette took a 2-1 lead when forward Joey Belfour slid a shot into the left corner on a penalty kick in the 61st minute. The penalty kick came when Lafayette's Eric Ellender made a run down the left side and was fouled by Jesuit defender Stephen Duncan in the penalty box.
Jesuit then went on the attack, pushing its players forward and kicking the ball into the Lafayette side. During injury time, Jesuit forward Reece Thomas made a run down the left side and was tackled in the penalty box by Lafayette defender Wyatt Hubble resulting in a penalty kick. Belfour and teammate Kevin Carter received yellow cards for protesting with officials after the call.
Chagnard said he didn't think he was going to have to take the kick, but Pierce, Jesuit's captain, volunteered him for the play.
"It was nerve-racking, of course," Chagnard said.
But Chagnard, the game's Outstanding Player, tied the score at 2 when he stroked a penalty kick past Johnson into the right corner.
Lafayette coach Duaine Belfour disagreed with the call.
"I thought the referees did an awful job," he said. "The better team didn't win."
