Charleroi back in boys soccer semifinals
Holly Tonini/Observer-Reporter
Charleroi soccer coach John Ducoli
CHARLEROI – The undefeated and top-seeded Charleroi Cougars moved within one win of returning to the WPIAL Class A boys soccer championship game with a 3-1 win over Eden Christian Academy on Wednesday night in a quarterfinal match at Myton Pottios Stadium.
Landon Barcus gave the Cougars (18-0) a 1-0 lead over the Warriors (13-4-2) with 35:48 to go in the first half, and Dylan Klinger scored off an assist from Bryce Large with 26:46 to go before intermission to make the score 2-0.
Charleroi coach John Ducoli spoke about the importance of the fast start.
“That first goal really opened it up for us and put them on their heels,” he said. “We played more of our possession game, and it opened things up for us to get the second goal.
“It gave us some time to breathe and reassess things. It worked in our favor and we were able to keep in our game plan.”
The score held at 2-0 until the last minute of the first half when both teams found the back of the net.
Klinger scored his second goal of the match with only 49 seconds to go before the break off an assist by Joel Chambers to give Charleroi a 3-0 lead, but Eden Christian’s Nate Wallace scored to get the Warriors on the scoreboard 28 seconds later to make the score 3-1 at the half.
Neither team scored in the second half, although goalkeeper Nate Mazon made several key saves for the Cougars late in the contest. He finished with 12 saves.
Ducoli was pleased with the play of Mazon and mentioned the importance of several reserves getting key minutes of playing time down the stretch.
“Nate was phenomenal in the end,” he said. “We had guys who had (yellow) cards, but it wasn’t things that we can’t fix.
“And for our bench to be on the field to secure the win while keeping the momentum, that is a good situation.”
The trip to the semifinals is the third straight for the Cougars, and the fourth time in seven years. Charleroi will play fourth-seeded Seton LaSalle, who defeated Springdale, in the semifinals on Monday with the winner advancing to the WPIAL Championships at Highmark Stadium later in the week.
“We have to continue to get better and work on all aspects,” Ducoli said.
On the other side of the bracket, seventh-seeded Bentworth (16-2), the runner-up to Charleroi in Section 2, defeated second-seeded Sewickley Academy (13-3-1), 5-0, and takes on third-seed Burrell (14-3) Monday.