September 14, 2006 Issue                                       

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©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

Chestnut Hill College men boot Blue Jays
by TOM UTESCHER

Chestnut Hill College’s John Wood, a sophomore, scored the fourth and final goal of the game on a penalty kick. For more photos visit www.chlocalphotos.com. (Photos by Jimmy J. Pack Jr.)

When an early goal by Chestnut Hill College’s men’s soccer team was answered by visiting Polytechnic University less than two minutes later, it looked as though last Saturday’s CHC home opener would be a close, high-scoring affair.

Poly’s Blue Jays wouldn’t ripple the Chestnut Hill net again, though, and in the middle of the period back-to-back scores by Griffins freshman Andrew Thorne would prove to be the gamewinner and the first insurance goal as CHC went on to win, 4-1. The match was the North Eastern Athletic Conference opener and the third match overall for both CHC (2-1) and for Polytechnic (1-2).

In addition to the final score, other stats favored the hosts, such as the Griffins’ 29-6 advantage in total shots, and an 8-2 edge in corner kicks. The two goalies for the locals, sophomore starter Matt Henigan and freshman back-up Adley Amzovski, only needed to make one save apiece. A total of 16 stops were recorded by Polytechnic keepers Zhindon Wilson (12) and Anthony Carullo (four).

CHC’s refurbished field, complete with grandstand seating, was originally slated to open for use in the fall of 2004. A series of problems with the playing surface, including the flooding of the Wissahickon Creek, had the Griffin booters holding home games off campus for two seasons. Their true home venue was used for lacrosse last spring, but last Saturday was the first time the soccer squad played there.

“It’s great to be on this field at last,” remarked CHC coach Shawn Ferris. “We had a game today where we were able to play a lot of guys, and the families came out to see them. It felt good to have a real ‘home’ game.”

CHC junior Brandand Saylor scoed the first goal of the game against Polytechnic University.

The crowd found its first opportunity to celebrate five minutes into the bout, when junior Brandan Saylor received a pass from classmate Michael Kuch, dodged a Blue Jay back in the left side of the box, and shot the ball right past Poly’s Wilson. With 6:40 elapsed, the visitors’ Andrew Vangjelidhi jabbed the ball into the Griffins’ den from about 15 yards out in the middle of the field, leveling the score at 1-1.

Five minutes later, Chestnut Hill’s Thorne fired a ball over the Polytechnic crossbar, then with 26:03 remaining in the first half he found the target, converting off of senior Mike Devine’s corner kick from the right to put the locals ahead for good.

Moving the ball around well in the box, CHC had Alexander Waters and Ralph Haaf earn assists on a second goal by their freshman classmate, Thorne. It was his seventh goal of the young season, coming with 18:29 remaining in the opening round. After that, Thorne, Haaf, junior Jeff Lewin and freshman Matt Gallo all launched shots at the Jays’ cage, but the half ended with the tally still 3-1.

Chestnut Hill would be in command of the contest the rest of the way. With a little over 17 minutes left to play, a frustrated Wilson took down CHC’s Thorne in the penalty area. The keeper’s foul was so flagrant that he was sent off the pitch with a red card, and on the PK, Griffins sophomore John Wood scored high on the right for the final goal of the afternoon.

“I think we’re going to be fine this year,” summed up Chestnut Hill’s Ferris. “In the last two years we haven’t had the depth that we have this season, so right now it’s just a matter of working all the players into the game and getting the rotation down. I think we’re now in a position to start playing right along with legitimate teams.”