November 2, 2006 Issue                                       

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©2006 The Chestnut Hill Local

CHC men overcome Immaculata in overtime
by TOM UTESCHER

CHC’s John Wood.

After being outplayed in the first half by host Immaculata University and then falling behind 1-0 early in the second period of last Thursday’s non-conference bout, the visiting Chestnut Hill College Griffins tied the match later in the second stanza, and then won it in overtime, 2-1.

Senior Raun Parker shot the equalizer for CHC (12-3-2 overall, 7-2-2 in North Eastern Athletic Conference), and then with 37 seconds remaining in the first ten-minute overtime, the “golden goal” by Griffins freshman Andrew Thorne did in the Mighty Macs (6-10, 3-4 in PA Athletic Conference).

The gamewinner was the 20th goal that Thorne has scored for Chestnut Hill, which reached the end of its regular-season schedule with last Thursday’s victory. Seeded second for the NEAC playoffs, the Griffins received a bye for the start of the conference tournament, and were awaiting the winner of a first-round contest.

The Immaculata men’s soccer program is only in its second year, but a brand new stadium with an artificial turf field has helped the formerly all-women’s school attract some talented players.

The Macs took the initiative on offense during much of the first half, outshooting the Griffins 7-2. The hosts pressed hard in the last 15 minutes, and CHC netminder Matt Henigan (five saves) had to make tough saves at both the right and left goalpost to keep Immaculata off the scoreboard. With 90 seconds left, a boot by the Macs’ Musa Toure hit the outside of the netting on the right side of the Griffins’ cage, and the half ended 0-0.

The pair of zeroes quickly dropped off the scoreboard in the second period, as both teams found the net during the first six minutes. Immaculata’s Dan Ventura, who’d threatened several times in the first half, brought the ball into the right side of the box on the hosts’ initial rush of the second stanza and fired into the far side of the net.

The marker came just ten seconds into the period, and it was answered by the visitors with 39:37 still remaining in regulation time. After a throw-in from the left sideline by Mike Devine, the ball bounced off of a few players in front of the goal before Parker kicked it across the line.

A few minutes later a direct kick by Chestnut Hill’s John Wood was saved by Immaculata keeper Chris Rolan (three saves), and later both Brandan Saylor and Ralph Haaf of the Griffins sent shots over the crossbar. In the middle of the period a loose ball bounced dangerously close to the CHC goal, but a volley by defender Robert Larkin cleared it out of the box.

The Griffins’ Thorne shot wide to the left with about seven minutes left, but Immaculata had more scoring chances coming down the stretch in the second half. With under two minutes to go, the hosts’ Henry Roman cranked a hard shot that was blocked, but not held, by Henigan, and the Griffins’ keeper was able to recover the loose ball before the Macs could reach it.

As the ten-minute overtime period unfolded, Henigan grabbed the ball out of the air on both a corner kick and a long serve by the home team. Just as it looked like a second ten would be called for, Chestnut Hill attacked up the left wing, and Jeff Lewin passed the ball up to Thorne far out near the left side of the box.

The first-year forward dodged around to free himself for a long, sharply-angled shot, catching the far side of the cage. It was a great ball struck from a tricky angle, and it brought the game to an abrupt conclusion that left the Macs stunned and the Griffins jubilant.