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Semifinal loss ends Knights' playoff run for 2nd year in row
By Nate Ulrich Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Thursday, Nov 08, 2007
RAVENNA: The Archbishop Hoban girls soccer team made a strong push toward Columbus for the second year in a row but once again fell one victory short of earning a chance to vie for a state title.
The Knights suffered a 2-1 defeat against Hathaway Brown in a Division II state semifinal Wednesday night at Ravenna Stadium. Hathaway Brown (19-3-1) advances to play Hamilton Badin in a state final at 3 p.m. Saturday at Crew Stadium in Columbus.
Hoban ends its playoff run with a record of 15-4-1. But Knights coach Benny Pietrangelo said he still considers the season a success for his
young team that has only three seniors on its roster.
''I'm very proud of my team,'' Pietrangelo said. ''We're very, very young. We had a great season. Hopefully the third time is a charm here next year. For two years in a row, we've made it to the final four, and it's a big accomplishment.''
For two years in a row, the Knights also were haunted by a penalty kick in a state semifinal. In 2006, Holy Name capitalized on one to knock Hoban out of the postseason.
In the 57th minute Wednesday, junior midfielder Alex Dayneka was tripped in the box and earned a penalty kick as a result. Her grounder from 12 yards away found the center of the net and proved to be the winning goal.
Hoban appeared to counter with a goal in the 70th minute. But the apparent score was waved off when officials said the Knights were offside, and Hathaway Brown held on.
''I thought we were the better team,'' Hathaway Brown coach Dennis Weyn said. ''The way we came out in the first half was extremely good.''
The Blazers took a 1-0 lead in the fifth minute when sophomore forward Lani Smith scored off an assist from Dayneka.
The play unfolded when junior midfielder Merrill Bachouros broke through traffic at midfield and passed to Dayneka, who was on the right side of the field. Dayneka then centered a pass to Smith, who fired a line drive from about 12 yards away into the upper part of the goal.
Hathaway Brown dominated possession and led 1-0 at halftime.
The Knights' only first-half scoring threat came in the 37th minute when sophomore forward Juliana Libertin raced down the field, broke through three defenders and fired Hoban's first shot on goal.
Weyn said the Blazers wanted to keep constant pressure on the Knights so that Libertin, who finished the season with 36 goals and 19 assists, couldn't get scoring opportunities.
''You don't want to start playing defense with a team like this because they have an outstanding striker in Juliana Libertin,'' Weyn said. ''You don't want to give her chances in the box because that's suicidal.''
After Hathaway Brown was the clear aggressor in the first half, Hoban came out in attack mode to start the second half.
The Knights made a few pushes into Blazers' territory and earned a corner kick that led to a goal in the 54th minute. Libertin fired the corner kick in front of the goal, and Knights freshman forward Margaret Woods connected with a header that found the net and tied the score 1-1.
Hathaway Brown, though, restored its lead with Dayneka's penalty kick and held on to earn a trip to Columbus.
''We started dominating the second half,'' Pietrangelo said. ''We had our chances there. It was a hard-fought game.''
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nateulrich2007@yahoo.com. Read the high school blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/varsity_letters/.
RAVENNA: The Archbishop Hoban girls soccer team made a strong push toward Columbus for the second year in a row but once again fell one victory short of earning a chance to vie for a state title.
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