Quote: In a stunner, Pinewood goes up to Cardinal Newman and takes out the Cardinals in PKs. Pinewood meets archrival Porter-Gaud in the Graveyard Saturday night for the championship.
SCISA CLASS 3A BOYS SOCCER: PINEWOOD PREP 1, CARDINAL NEWMAN 0 Panthers shock No. 1 Cardinals Pinewood Prep hands CN a rare shutoutPinewood Prep hands CN a rare shutout By JOHN DEVLIN - Special to The State
Cardinal Newman ended Pinewood Prep’s SCISA boys soccer reign as year ago, and the Panthers from Summerville returned the favor on Thursday at George Watson Field.
Pinewood (13-10) pulled off a 1-0, shootout upset of the top-ranked, defending champion Cardinals in the Class 3A semifinals and will take on Lowcountry rival Porter-Gaud in Saturday’s title bout at Stone Stadium.
“It’s not that I didn’t think Pinewood could beat us, but never in a million years did I think that we’d be shut out,” Cardinal Newman coach Will Eudy said.
“I can’t really explain why it happened this way, but it did and it’s tough to take. I feel so bad for these guys, especially the seniors. This isn’t the way we wanted it to end.”
Cardinal Newman, which finished 17-5, came into the match averaging 4.3 goals per game this season and hadn’t been shut out in its 65 previous outings.
The Cardinals controlled the flow during regulation, out-shooting the Panthers 26-7 while earning a 7-1 advantage in corner kick opportunities, but the bottom line was too many off-target shots and brilliant play by Pinewood Prep keeper Ryan Moore.
“We had our chances but we certainly didn’t finish like we’re capable of doing, and (Moore) played great. He won them the game,” Eudy said.
Moore finished with 16 saves, and was equally adept at anticipating Cardinal intentions and repeatedly cut off crossing passes through the box to negate potential scoring chances.
“We knew it was going to be a challenge coming up here and playing Cardinal Newman on this small field, but my guys persevered and kept working,” Panthers coach Enrique Rodriguez said. “Ryan made it all work in the net. No question, he was the key to the win.”
In the other end, Cardinal Newman keeper Thomas Wilczewski was called on to make four saves in 110 minutes of play in regulation and overtime.
Pinewood Prep was 5-for-5 in the penalty kick shootout against Wilczewski with Kevin Weber’s clean score on the fifth rotation being the game-winner.
Cardinal Newman had conversions from stars Nestor Jaramillo and Koty Millard, senior Thomas Touma and freshman Jack Sicker, but Andrew Wilczewski’s wide-of-the-mark launch on the fourth rotation proved costly.
