By Alex Frazier
Rick Schmidt remembered.
And he made sure his team didn’t forget.
Back on Sept. 10, Wissahickon scored three goals in the second half to edge defending American Conference champion Upper Dublin, 3-2.
Since then Cheltenham gave the Cardinals new life by tying the Trojans 2-2.
So, with Oct. 2 circled on the calendar, Upper Dublin knew it held its fate in its own hands when Wissahickon came to town for the re-match.
This time, in a fast-paced, physical contest, typical of the intense rivalry between the two neighbors, both defenses were rock solid through 70 minutes.
But with a little less than 10 minutes remaining in regulation, Upper Dublin found the chink in the Trojans’ armor.
Upper Dublin stopper Ryan Hartzell sent a long cross up to Ian Smith inside Wissahickon territory. Smith turned and was suddenly on a fast break. As he penetrated the 18, he lined up his shot and booted the ball, which ricocheted off a Trojan defender inside the left post, giving the Flying Cardinals the only goal they needed for a 1-0 win over the Trojans.
“My adrenalin was pumping,” said Smith. “I tried my best to finish the ball.
“We were legitimately pissed off that they came back and won 3-2. We took it out on the field and we came out to win. That’s all you can ask for.”
Upper Dublin coach Rick Schmidt praised his leading scorer.
“He’s a potent forward,” he said. “He has an eye for the goal.”
Wissahickon coach Stuart Malcolm knew that only too well.
“We told them we can’t let him turn and we let him turn, and he goes through and scores and that’s the end of it,” said a distressed Malcolm. “There’s the division right there.”
For Wissahickon it was all too familiar a scenario. The Trojans have played well in stretches, but crucial lapses have constantly haunted them.
“It’s disappointing because man for man all over the field I thought we were a much better side, but it’s all about putting the ball in the net, and we didn’t do it,” said Malcolm, who left the field in a hurry.
Schmidt, on the other hand, credited his defensive unit of Gregg Tyler, Ryan Hartzell, Ben Kessler and Cory Meyer.
“The defense last time was a little bit panicky and that led to problems,” he said. “We worked on that and they’re not that way anymore. They are better composed and work well together. It just took a while to get the gears moving.”
In the first half, Wissahickon held an advantage. One Trojan shot in the 13th minute was clearly headed into the goal when Upper Dublin’s Cory Meyer booted it away. A minute later Cardinal keeper Kevin Marvill beat Dan Matthews to a cross, averting another opportunity.
Wissahickon also had three corner kicks (five for the game) it couldn’t convert.
Upper Dublin had two good chances. The first came in front of the goal when Wissahickon sweeper Jacob Helman misplayed a ball, but Upper Dublin’s Casey Boyd couldn’t get the handle on it.
With less than a minute to play in the half, Matt Noe headed Ben Kessler’s direct kick into the upper left corner of the net, but the goal was waved off by the official.
In the second half, the Cardinals came out on the offensive, outshooting Wissahickon 10-5.
“Our coach talked to us, and we got riled up,” said Smith. “We really wanted to win.”
Wissahickon defender Javier Puga tackled Jim Trentini to prevent a good shot. Trentini had another opportunity two minute later, but launched the ball over the crossbar.
In the 13th minute, Smith fired a shot that Erik Riefenstahl managed to save by diving to his left.
And a minute later Hartzell volleyed a shot off the left post. He was robbed again in the 28th minute when Riefenstahl leaped and pulled in his header.
With all that pressure on the defense, it was inevitable that something might go wrong.
And two minutes later it did.
“This year they’re very evenly matched. The first time they won, this time we won, and next time I wouldn’t place bets on that one,” said Schmidt. “This is the way the game is supposed to be played. Two quality teams come together, and they play like this and you don’t know what’s going to happen until it’s done.”
“Wissahickon-UD are the biggest teams in the conference,” said Smith, “and now you get to see who is the biggest team today.”
The Cardinals still have four conference games remaining before they can claim another league title, but unless something strange happens like the whole team comes down with the flu, they should hold on to their current half-game lead.
But Schmidt warned, “These momentary lapses can happen anywhere to any team. Sometimes it’s a game changer and sometimes it’s not. This conference has been interesting this year. There have been no runaways.”
Upper Dublin 1, Wissahickon 0
Goals: Ian Smith (UD)
Assists: Ryan Hartzell (UD)
Shots: Wissahickon 8, Upper Dublin 13
Saves: Erik Riefenstahl (W) 5, Kevin Marvill (UD) 5
Corners: Wissahickon 5, Upper Dublin 1
Fouls: Wissahickon 11, Upper Dublin 3
Yellow cards: Kevin Matthews (W)
- Log in to post comments
0
