Posted: 10/17/07
CHS boys advance to semi-finals with 2-1 OT thriller over Lancers
 Caledonia's Maros Zelenak (14) battled this Faribault defender during the first round of Section 1A play plast week. The Warriors picked up two wins and advanced to the semi finals, where they were defeated by Rochester Lourdes Tuesday evening 3-1. Photo by Reed Welch. |
By Charlie Warner
Argus Editor
"They beat us twice before, but not the third time...when it really mattered," said Warrior boys soccer head coach Tom Krinke. Saturday, the number-five seeded Warriors traveled to La Crescent and handed the number-four seeded Lancers a 2-1 over-time loss.
The win advanced the Warriors to the semi final round of the Section 1A soccer play-offs, where the boys took on top-seeded Rochester Lourdes Tuesday, Oct. 16.
CHS 2 LCHS 1
An old sports cliche states it is very difficult to defeat a team three times in one season. That cliche held true for the Caledonia boys, as they topped La Crescent 2-1 in a thrilling overtime contest Saturday afternoon in La Crescent. The Lancers had handed the Warriors two one-goal losses during the regular season, and gained the fourth seed, and home-field advantage in the quarterfinals of the Section 1A play-offs.
The Lancers scored first in Saturdayís contest on a penalty kick at the 15 minute mark.
"Getting down, 1-0 didnít shake our guys," Krinke said. "They stayed focused and continued to put the pressure on La Crescent."
The Warriors tied the game up at the 26 minute mark of the first half when foreign exchange student Maros Zelenak scored his first goal of the season on a pass from Jordan Becker. The two teams battled through the rest of the first half and all of the second, without either squad scoring a goal.
With the game tied 1-1, the two teams went to sudden death overtime. Five minutes into the extra period, Colin Gluch found Alex Castanheira open about 30 feet in front of the goal. Castanheira drilled one hard from 25 feet out, which got past the goalie for the winning score.
"The kids went nuts. It was great," said a very happy coach Krinke. "La Crescent has a very good team. We have a very good rivalry with them. It was a fun, intense game. We made a few adjustments in this game, and I guess it worked.
"Our kids played so hard, and I really think changing things up a little really helped. They became quite frustrated and had three yellows."
The Warriors out-shot the Lancers 27-11.
CHS 2 FHS 0
The Warriors defeated Faribault two days earlier in the first round of the play-offs by a 2-0 score at home. Faribault had been a Class AA team, but moved down to Class A this year.
"We didnít know much about them, except they were big, and hadnít won any games this year. But they played some very good Twin Cities schools this year," Krinke said.
Craig Loeffler, who has been injured much of the season, was back to full strength, and scored the first goal of the game. It was an unassisted goal, as the senior midfielder scored on a long shot from the side 25 minutes into the first half.
The score remained 1-0, as the first half ended, and Faribault came out strong in the second half, and tried to take the game away from the Warriors.
CHS took the wind out of Faribaultís sails when Zelenak found Becker open for a goal with 23 minutes remaining in the second half.
The Warriors out-shot Faribault 26-12.
"The kids are really playing some good soccer right now," Krinke said. "We are playing very well together as a team, getting everyone healthy and having some fun. You just never know what can happen in the play-offs," Krinke concluded.
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