October 18, 2007 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

GA soccer shades CHA to take league lead
by TOM UTESCHER

GA’s Voltaire Escalona scored the game’s only goal. For more photos of the CHA vs. GA soccer game, visit www.chlocalphotos.com. (Photos by Jimmy J. Pack Jr.)

Making a one-goal lead stand up for more than 68 minutes despite playing 10-on-11 much of that time, the visiting Germantown Academy Patriots captured a 1-0 victory at Chestnut Hill Academy last Saturday and moved into first place in the Inter-Ac League soccer standings.

Sophomore Voltaire Escalona tucked a 20-yard shot inside the left post of the Blue Devils’ goal with 11:25 elapsed, but GA (10-3-1 overall) found its complement of players reduced to ten when one of its starters was ejected from the match with ten minutes remaining in the first half. Senior netminder Brian O’Donnell, also a highly-regarded lacrosse goalie, kept persistent CHA at bay the rest of the way, finishing with 11 saves.

Four-time defending champ GA, which had begun the 2007 league schedule by beating Haverford and tying Malvern, climbed into the top spot with a 2-0-1 record. Just 24 hours earlier, Chestnut Hill (4-8-1 overall) and Penn Charter each owned a mark of 2-0, but PC’s 2-0 loss to Episcopal Academy on Friday afternoon preceded CHA’s Saturday’s setback.

Given these latest indications of the parity that exists within the six-team league, Blue Devils coach Mark Weinmann remarked, “It’s a wide open race, and it just goes to show that it’s a matter of taking advantage of your opportunities.”

That hasn’t come easily for CHA this year, and while the Devils forced GA’s O’Donnell to make some truly impressive stops on Saturday, they also launched some poorly-placed shots that resulted in routine saves.

“We hit a lot right to him,” Weinmann lamented. “It’s disappointing when you work so hard to get the ball in front of the net, then give it away.”

GA goalie Brian O’Donnell had an excellent game. For more photos of the CHA vs. GA soccer game, visit www.chlocalphotos.com.

A large crowd had gathered to enjoy the first soccer Saturday enlivened by true fall weather. No one from the host school arrived to work at the scorer’s table, so GA team managers Brittany Bell and Torie Machikas stepped in to do the bookkeeping and operate the scoreboard.

Early on, the Pats’ Steve Boland lifted a direct kick over the CHA goal, and at the far end the Devils’ Pete Adubato hit one shot that was saved and missed another wide right. Soon after that, Escalona let loose from beyond the CHA 18 for what would be the only goal in the game. A little later, Germantown tenth grader Ben Wysochi missed on the left, and CHA’s Ryan Duffy unleashed a strong shot into O’Donnell’s navel.

Next, the head official slapped two yellow cards on GA’s Boland in the space of two minutes, causing the senior to be ejected from the game with 10:04 remaining in the opening half.

As the time dwindled down to five minutes, O’Donnell handled a header by the Devils’ Sam Lane and then made great back-to-back saves, blocking an Adubato bullet from the right side of the box, and then leaping up to foil the follow-up attempt by Joe Breen of CHA. Lastly, CHA goalie Chip Culp (seven saves) tipped a direct kick by sophomore Dan Lovitz up over the crossbar, leaving GA to face the second period with ten players and a precarious 1-0 lead.

“Because we played one man short,” noted GA coach Patrick David, “we had to kind of give up their half to slide and play compact in the middle, and neutralize [CHA’s] Mike Marino and Joe Breen. We adjusted well, and we still were able to go up and pressure them a few times. We have a lot of young players [six starters are sophomores], but they’re smart, technically good players. We didn’t turn the ball over much, we made very few mistakes, and we had great goalkeeping.”

As the second half unfolded, O’Donnell saved shots by CHA’s Marino, Duffy, and Taylor Ferry, and Ferry hit another over the cage. The Devils’ Culp dove to stop a ball launched by Chris Wysochi (Ben’s twin brother), and then beat junior Tyler Regan to a ball that had been sent through into the box. Culp made another strong stop to bring junior Cole Ballay’s breakaway to a harmless conclusion, but much of the time the ball was at the far end of the field as CHA strained to net the equalizer.

There were more attempts by aforementioned Blue Devil players (including a 12-footer hit too high) and bids by Chris Eckert and Max Mitchell, all in vain. As the game grew even more intense and physical during the stretch run, the official distributed enough cards to stock a Hallmark® store. Ultimately, GA’s 1-0 advantage endured till the end.