Friday, April 2, 1999 |
By MICHAEL BOYLAN
Just like the NCAA Championship the night before, the
matches on Tuesday night between McIntosh and Fayette county's
soccer teams lived up to the hype. The girls teams met first, battling
for almost 20 minutes without a goal. The Lady Chiefs scored 19
minutes into the game, when Keri Pendergrass made a beautiful
cross to Julie Herdic, who volleyed the ball in the net. McIntosh
controlled the pressure and the pace of the game for the next few
minutes with Ansley Franke scoring amidst confusion in front of the
Fayette net. The Lady Chiefs scored a gain less than a minute later
after Melanie Schneider hammered in a rebound off of the Fayette keeper.
McIntosh appeared to put more pressure on the Lady Tigers
and controlled their offense better. The Lady Tigers seemed kind
of rushed, playing long balls and not able to setup good chances.
A minute into the second half and McIntosh scored again. Julie
Herdic sent a beautiful pass to Keri Pendergrass, who scored her
second goal of the game. The game went back and forth for the
next twenty minutes until Fayette got on the scoreboard. Amanda
Wix pounded the ball in amidst a barrage of shots. The lady
Chiefs were not done though, Julie Herdic set up Keri Pendergrass
one more time, giving the forward a hat trick.
McIntosh captured the region title and will go to the
playoffs ranked number one in AAAA. Fayette County is ranked
seventh in AAAA and will be off until April 13 when they will
host Redan.
The boys match was packed with excitement as well.
The Chiefs scored in the first six minutes when Brian Rhodes
connected on a pass to Beau Balesky. Balesky made a beautiful cross that
Stephen Wilson tapped in for the score. The teams went back and
forth and a Fayette goal was called back due to a foul. The defenses of
both teams played superbly, stopping several chances an scoring
opportunities. The first half ended with the Chiefs ahead 1-0.
The second half opened with Matt Clements and Beau
Balesky setting up a drive that resulted in Balesky driving the ball past
the Fayette keeper, J.B. Wood. It was Balesky's 16th goal of the
season. Less than a minute later, Balesky took another ferocious shot,
it bounced off of Wood and Jason Castro put the ball in the net.
The Tigers did not quit, Trevor Bowman launched a long throw
that Matt Kelso, the Chiefs keeper, barely tipped before it went
in. With five minutes left, Bowman made another long throw
which Andrew Doggendorf headed past Kelso. The Tigers tried again
to tie the score but it was too late.
The McIntosh boys won the region, it was also the first time
in six meetings that the Chiefs defeated the Tigers. These two
teams may meet in the regional championship, if they can advance in
the first round of the regional playoffs.McIntosh's boys and
girls will play the regionals at home.
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