Elsah, IL-Principia men's soccer teams' season came to a disappointing halt with 3:49 left in the second overtime against a pesky Fontbonne side on Thursday night in Elsah, IL. The Griffins advance to the conference finals to face Greenville College on Saturday. For the panthers the loss marks the end to a very trying season that had great hopes but ended abruptly.
The game was a seesaw battle between two teams who were for the most part lethargic around the net. Both teams did well to fight for, and maintain consistent possession but it is the missed chances that the panthers will rue most.
Alan Cheatham was first to come close when his attempt at the top of the 18 went inches wide after a series of good movement at the top of the box.
Colin Angle would follow that up minutes later after receiving a through ball that eliminated the keeper and then he did well to round off two fallen defenders but his attempt at the wide open net from the 12 yard line rose cruelly over the cross bar.
The rest of the game did not present much more until the overtime period. The panthers opened the play by earning an early corner kick.
Elliot Rybak's effort found an unchallenged
Spencer Brown who's screaming header missed by a foot. These types of games tend to be about who makes the least mistakes and for a moment it seemed as though both teams were content to take the game into penalty shoot-out for the decider.
The griffins however found one more opportunity after the panthers got caught in transition late in the game. The griffin attacker did well in a 1v1 situation making something out of nothing.
John Gotwals did well to funnel the attacker to the outside left side but the brilliant cutback to the inside was enough for him to find space and thunder home the decisive put away for a stunning 1-0 win for the Griffins.
For the panthers it was indeed a cruel ending to a well played game and a solid second half of the season. After losing five out of their first 10 games the panthers did well to only loose three out of their last 10 contests to finish with a respectable mark of 8-7-4 and a second place finish in regular season conference play. The panthers graduate six players from this team who have had a very successful four year run. They include senior captain
Spencer Brown,
Esteban Xifre,
Andres De paz Nicol,
Will Bisbee,
Elliot Rybak and
Kwasi Asare-Darko. Their services to the program will be missed as the wheels start turning to the 2011 season. A big thank you; to all our fans, supporters and families for being by our side throughout this wonderful journey. See you all in August 2011.
