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: NIsportsSeals eliminate Indians
Published: November 1, 2009
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MIDDLEBURG - After a scoreless first half, and as rain kept beating down on a chewed-up field, it became apparent that whoever scored first would have a leg up in Saturday's District 4 Class AA boys soccer quarterfinal between Shamokin and Selinsgrove.
Selinsgrove's Kyle Bennar took care of that at the 54:23 mark, scoring the first of his two goals as the Seals took a 2-0 win over the Indians to advance to the semifinals against top-seeded Athens (16-1).
Bennar scored his second goal a little more than seven minutes after the first, and Selinsgrove (10-8-1), although the lower seed, took advantage of its experience playing in the tougher Heartland Conference Division I during the season by keeping play on the Indians' side of the field for most of the second half.
"Both teams had to play on this, but it's true, when it does get wet, the field slows the game down," said Shamokin coach Joel Hockenbroch. "And when we got down a goal, we were looking to speed things up."
"We talked at halftime, not so much with the kids but among the coaches, that whoever scored the first goal was going to be in good shape," said Selinsgrove coach Chris Lupolt. "I think frustration was setting in for us because we didn't have anything go in in the first half, and we've had trouble finishing for some reason this season, and the longer that happens, you're vulnerable to counterattacks. We just told the kids to stay focused, and it will happen."
The teams played fairly evenly in
the first half, with Selinsgrove having a 6-3 edge in shots, but Shamokin just missing on a solid opportunity, one that Hockenrboch lamented.
"We made a cross at the goal that Chase (Gallie) couldn't get a touch on," Hockenbroch said.
The Seals did a good job defending Gallie, who finished his career with 96 goals, according to Hockenrbroch. They often not only had their best defender on him, but tried as much as possible to have two players on him.
"We had (Alex) Hoke on Gallie most of the time, and we also used Dylan Buralt as a second man defender," Lupolt said. "Under these conditions, it's hard for one guy to stay with a player as good as Gallie, so we wanted a second man on as much as possible. We were also concerned with number 20 (Matt Gass). He's a good player."
Hockenbroch tried to counter that as the game went on by moving Gallie back toward midfield to let him try to find other players who might be open.
"We moved Mike Slodysko up top (to sweeper) and tried to free Chase," Hockenbroch said. "We knew Chase wouldn't get tired, because he hasn't in four years."
Shamokin finished the season 11-5-2, and Hockenbroch credited his senior players.
"Chase gets all the recognition because he scores the goals, but our four defenders this year were all seniors, and only one of them, Jake Jurewicz, was a four-year player," he said. "The other all came along later, so they didn't have a whole lot of experience, but they really played well."
Selinsgrove 2, Shamokin 0
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