GIAA soccer: This year, St. Anne-Pacelli has too much - barely - and avenges last year's loss by nipping Stratford
By Michael A. Lough
The Sports Report
centralgasports@gmail.com
The location was the same as a year ago.
And again, on the well-manicured Spencer Frank Hays soccer field at the Hutchinson Soccer Complex on Stratford’s campus, Stratford and St. Anne-Pacelli went at it.
The postmatch hugs were hard, and eyes were red from tears. Water bottles flew.
A year ago, the hugs and tears were joyous ones, water bottles happily squirted.
But this time, the smiles and chest bumps belonged to St. Anne-Pacelli.
The Vikings from Columbus were the better team this year, making a halftime lead hold up in a 2-1 win Wednesday night over host Stratford in the GIAA Class AAAA boys soccer championship game.
Pacelli avenged last year’s 3-0 loss to Stratford on the same turf.
“Yeah, it’s a rivalry,” Stratford head coach Iain Jones said. “We’ve been playing them for a while now. Obviously a rematch from last year, so certainly they had the revenge factor.
“They played well.”
Stratford’s season ended at 16-4, Pacelli’s at 11-5.
A week after scoring the game-winner in the final minute, Stratford was unable to muster a normal outing of threats on goal.
Video/photos: Michael A. Lough/Central Georgia Sports Report
“I felt like Pacelli showed a lot more composure than we did in the first half,” Jones said. “I felt like we would have been more composed.”
Stratford has had a load of seniors the past few years, but relied on more youth this year than last. That game-winner against Bulloch came from Brady Flournoy, a Stratford soccer legacy who’s older brother Wes is a senior standout, both the sons of Jef Flournoy, Class of 1993.
The Vikings were a hair faster, more on target, and in the right place more often from the start. They got on the board early, less than four minutes in, when the shot of Joseph Calvert from the right side found its way through traffic to the left side of the net.
A year ago, it took a strong Stratford squad until less than five minutes left in the half to get on the board.
Despite an inability to counter Pacelli’s pressure and possession advantage, the Eagles were down only 1-0, and had to fight to keep it at that. And it was a fight.
“Pacelli changed some tactics this year compared to what they did last year, which allowed them to possess the ball a little more and put teams under a lot more pressure,” Jones said. “I felt like we absorbed that pressure well in the first five or 10 minutes, but, then again, it comes down to composure.”
As the clock wounded down and it appeared that the Eagles would survive a half that wasn’t necessarily up to normal standards down only one, on came a body blow.
Cole Butera’s free kick from fairly deep on the right side sailed into a batch of bodies, but the foot of Jack Dalelio nudged it into the left side of the net, with only 17.7 seconds left in the half.
Considering the few shots Stratford had on goal, it felt like a bigger lead than just two.
Jones barked at his players as they trudged to the locker room to keep their heads up, and a more normal Stratford group emerged in the second half.
After more chances were denied, Stratford finally broke through in the mighty physical battle 18 minutes into the second half when James Biesterfeld was led with a perfect pass, and the freshman finished it off with a solid goal at 22:33.
Yellow cards and bodies flying continued, and Pacelli regained some control as Stratford worked hard to tie it.
But that didn’t happen, and the hugs were hard and tears flowed and water bottles were slammed to the ground.
Jones slowly made his way through the postmatch collection of parents and alumni and fans who were slowly starting regain some composure, a few smiles replacing red faces.
“They held their ground the last 15 minutes,” Jones said. “We’re looking for an equalizer, and I felt like we had some really good opportunities, but we just couldn’t put it away. They did a good job defensively hold the ground, and that backline was very strong.”
Jones will be back in charge next spring – albeit with a new job in school – and with the requisite Stratford experience and expectations, but lost the battle briefly with emotions only seconds after he started summing up the night.
“You see the emotions on these guys faces …” he said, pausing and rubbing his eyes. “These guys mean a lot. They’re a good group of guys. It means a lot to them.
“Those (seniors) were stuck with me. We’ve been together awhile now. I played soccer with their dads, and that’s a special bond. These boys love one another, and I love these boys to death, and I’ll do anything for ‘em.”