CELEBRATION — Catholic Central’s Santi Descalso, 11, is huddled with teammates after his goal in the fifth round of the shootout that clinched the Crusaders’ victory in the OVAC semifinals on Thursday. – Andrew Grimm
STEUBENVILLE — For the second consecutive day, the OVAC soccer semifinals at Tony Rencinella Soccer Field were dramatic.
A day after the Catholic Central girls team won a shootout and advanced to the Class 1A-3A championship game on the same field Thursday night, the Crusaders boys team did the same and advanced to Saturday’s championship game. Participated.
Central overcame a first-half deficit against third-seeded Trinity Christian and tied the score late in the second half. With the game still inconclusive after two overtimes, Central won the shootout 5-3, winning 2-1 and earning a spot at Wheeling Island Stadium.
“We knew going into the game it was going to be a tough game,” Central head coach Steve Kopcha said. “We played them early in the season and they blew us away that day. They’re a great team, very good defensively, and they’ve done well in the OVAC tournament the last four of the last three years.
“I always believe in the players on my team and their abilities. This game is a great example of how hard they work, how persistent they are, and how they never give up.”
The Warriors (7-3-2) led 1-0 at halftime, but the second-seeded Crusaders held on in the second half. After a few missed opportunities, Gus Zaleski set up a great goal and ultimately got one past Trinity keeper Parker Hopkins, who had a great performance in the loss.
Neither team scored in the five-minute overtime period, but both teams scored in the first three rounds of penalties. However, the Warriors’ fourth shot missed, allowing Central’s Santi DeSacurso to start in the fifth round and clinching the victory.
“We knew we had a chance with the way we played. We controlled most of the play. We just needed to find a way to solve the opponent’s goalie,” Kopcha said. “Fortunately we were able to score the goal we needed to equalize.
“The penalty shootout is definitely exciting. It’s something we’re really working on, but you don’t know how it’s going to go until you’re in that situation. I’m really happy that the training paid off and the players got through. .”
The win was a bit of revenge for the Crusaders (7-3-1), who lost 3-0 against Trinity in August.
Top-seeded Wheeling Central defeated Linsley in a shootout in the other semifinal, and Central will face a familiar foe in Saturday’s final.
The Crusaders will be looking for more revenge as the Maroon Knights won 5-1 in their most recent matchup.
“It means a lot to us to be back in the finals,” said Kopcha. “It’s something we’ve talked about a lot. In the early days of this tournament, I was lucky enough to play a lot of games, but I haven’t played in the last few years, so on Saturday, Getting back to playing was definitely something I wanted to accomplish.”
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