Dutchtown KOs Catholic High, 3-1
If at first you don’t succeed, sometimes another opportunity presents itself. Thursday night at the Burbank Soccer Complex, a third chance at success proved to be the right opportunity for Dutchtown High School.
Dutchtown lost two close contests to District 5 rival Catholic High during the regular season, but this time the 11th-seeded Griffins turned the tables with a 3-1 win in the second round of the Division I playoffs.
Dutchtown (11-8-6), which advanced to the semifinal round last season, will play the winner between Brother Martin and Fontainebleau in quarterfinal play. Sixth-seeded Catholic (17-5-1) saw its season end after winning District 5 with an 11-1 record.
“Intensity was the difference,” Dutchtown coach Larry Chambless said. “We preached all week that the regular season was over. Record-wise we didn’t compare to previous Dutchtown teams, and we didn’t win the district, but none of that meant anything.
“This was one game, 80 minutes, 11 vs. 11, and we preached doing the work.”
The game was tied 1-1 in the 77th minute when Catholic’s Alex Bujenovic was called for a foul on Dutchtown forward Ryan Reid. On the ensuing free kick from 30 yards out, Dutchtown’s Tyler Sarrazin sent the ball toward the goal, but the ball bounced out to Dutchtown’s Blake Etzel.
Etzel quickly turned and put the ball into the right side of the net for the go-ahead goal.
Justin Reid added Dutchtown’s final goal in extra time, scoring on an open net after Catholic had moved all 11 players to Dutchtown’s side of the field in an all-out effort to score the tying goal.
For the game, Catholic got off 12 shots to Dutchtown’s six. Griffins goalkeeper Adam Pittman finished with five saves.
“I think the game came down to a couple of things,” Catholic coach Bo Cassidy said. “We couldn’t give up a goal off a punt or a set piece because we felt like those were two areas where they could hurt us. (Dutchtown) didn’t create a lot of chances, but my hat goes off to them. They defended well enough, and they hurt us in the two areas that we couldn’t allow them to.”
The punt that hurt Catholic came in the eighth minute when Pittman sent a booming goal kick into the Bears’ third of the field. Catholic’s goalie came out to meet the play, but Ryan Reid bumped the ball past him and deposited the ball into the left side of the net.
Dutchtown made the 1-0 lead stand until midway through the second half.
Off a corner kick from the right side, Bujenovic placed the ball in front of the Dutchtown goal. Pittman made a play on the ball, but was called for pushing a Bears player aside as he fought to gain possession.
Catholic was awarded a penalty kick, which Patrick Betts calmly placed in the right side of the net with a sharp, low kick tying the score 1-1 in the 61st minute.
The game looked as though it might head to overtime, but Etzel and Justin Reid made sure it didn’t.
“The thing I’m most proud of is we lost the lead, and we didn’t buckle,” Chambless said. “We’ve been in a lot of tight games although probably not with teams the caliber of Catholic. I’m proud of the guys. They stuck with it and did the work.”