|
|
Clearfield tops Bradford, 4-2
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
By Josh Mlot Sports Writer
HYDE - Time for a five-peat?
The Clearfield boys soccer team is back in a familiar position, playing for the District 9 title, after dropping Bradford, 4-2, in a semifinal on Monday. One more win would give the Bisons their fifth consecutive district championship.
"It really means a lot to us," Clearfield head coach Jeff Mease said. "We've won districts so many times, the last four years now we've been district champs, and it really means a lot to be back in the final game.
"We're really looking forward to it, and I know these seniors have worked really hard to get back here this year."
It took some more hard work Monday afternoon at the Bison Sports Complex, as Clearfield's perseverance and poise served it well against an Owl team that wouldn't go away.
Kurt Graham scored twice for the Bisons, including the first of the contest after numerous opportunities in the early going fell short.
Corner kick after free kick after throw-in all fell dangerously into the box, but Clearfield could never quite put the finishing touches on.
That is, until Graham took a perfectly played ball over the top from midfielder Matt Anderson, running on and one-touching it into the left side netting for a 1-0 lead at the 20:54 mark.
"Kurt Graham did a great job of running up top today and just had some beautiful shots on goal," Mease said. "(He) just created a lot of problems for them up top, which made a big difference.
"I thought the first 10 minutes of the game, especially, we worked really, really hard and just didn't get a goal. It's one of those things where sometimes that comes back to haunt you. ... We were real fortunate that we finally got one to go a little later in the first half."
Bradford, on the other hand, had few openings in the first 40 minutes. The best chance came midway through the period, when the Clearfield defense anticipated a drop pass, but Owl captain Cody Nuzzo instead cut the ball back, ran through the resulting hole and fired a shot wide.
After an earlier Graham goal was erased by a whistle - the referees ruling Bradford's way on a collision between the striker and goalkeeper Devin Zelko - luck bounced back to the home side.
With time winding down on the first half, Talon Swatsworth lifted a ball up top to Graham, who blasted a shot that Zelko knocked away.
But Bison winger Zach Fannin swooped in to clean up the mess, knocking the ball over the goal line with only six seconds to go before halftime.
In the face of what happened in the opening moments of the second half, the last-second score loomed large.
"2-0 at halftime is just such a big, big difference from 1-0 at halftime," Mease said. "Especially when 11 seconds in (to the second half) they come in and score, and it could have been tied and really changed the whole face of the game.
"We still had a little cushion there and had some time to get ourselves together."
The Bisons needed to recover when, just seconds into the second half, Bradford responded. Richard Obermeyer took the ball deep into the right corner for the Owls, crossing it in to the 6-yard box, where Colton Bly got just enough of a touch on it to slip it into the goal and cut the lead in half, 2-1.
"They just came out and get the ball into the corner and in 11 seconds got a goal," Mease said. "They got right back in the game, and you've got to really start scratching again."
The Bisons clawed back immediately doing the same things they had in the early going.
This time a ball in the box paid off in a big way, and a long throw-in from Anderson created chaos when keeper Zelko mishandled the ball and watched it bounce off his defender and into the back of the net for what proved to be the game-winner.
"We work a lot on those throw-ins," Mease said. "We've got a couple guys with really good throw-ins, and it's almost like a corner kick for us.
"We get it in the area, we've got some big, tall people in there, and anything can happen, and it did. We got some guys up in the air, the keeper misjudged a little bit, and it went off someone else and in. And that's really what you're trying to do - put the ball in a dangerous situation - and we do that really well."
From there, center midfielders Anderson and Nick Walker took control, setting the pace through center and opening things for the Bisons.
Graham took advantage in the 66th minute, firing a long blast that found the upper regions of the goal mouth for a 4-1 advantage.
"I thought we really took control and settled down," Mease said. "We've got a real veteran team.
"I thought Nick Walker and Matt Anderson in the center of the midfield really settled down, got the ball on the ground and really started taking control of the midfield again."
Bradford continued to pressure, with Bison keeper Ben Johnson making three of his six saves in the final 20 minutes, and did manage to get one back at 67:06.
Bly chipped the ball forward to Nuzzo in front of the net. Nuzzo popped the ball out of Johnson's reach and into the back of the net to make things 4-2.
Clearfield (9-6-2) will battle for the Class AA championship on Thursday at a site and time to be determined.
The Bisons will take on the winner of the other semifinal matchup between St. Marys and Punxsutawney, which was suspended at 1-1 Monday. The game will resume today. Clearfield 4, Bradford 2
Scoring Summary
First Half
1. Kurt Graham, C, (Matt Anderson), 20:54.
2. Zach Fannin, C, (unassisted), 39:54.
Second Half
3. Colton Bly, B, (Richard Obermeyer), 40:11.
4. Own goal, B, 52:54.
5. Graham, C, (unassisted), 65:57.
6. Cody Nuzzo, B, (Bly), 67:06.
Shots: Bradford 12, Clearfield 13.
Saves: Bradford (Devin Zelko) 5, Clearfield (Ben Johnson) 6.
Corners: Bradford 3, Clearfield 4.
 |
|
|
|
