FREDERICK, Md. – A goal in the 79th minute kept the Hood College men's soccer team in prime position for a spot in the Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth Championship tournament, toughing out a 2-1 win over Albright College.
Inside the Box Score
Cristian Topovich (Frederick, Md./Oakdale) and
Cam Simpler (Middletown, Del./Appoquinimink) both scored for the Blazers.
Terrell Funchess (Taneytown, Md./Henry E. Lackey) assisted on Simpler's goal.
Adam Labows (Leonardtown, Md./Leonardtown) made five saves in net to earn the win.
How it Happened
Although Albright got the first good offensive chance in the 7th minute that had to be saved by Labows, it would be Hood who took the early advantage, with Topovich earning himself a penalty kick and hitting his spot perfectly to give the Blazers a 1-0 lead. The Lions fought back quickly to find the equalizer, but Labows stood tall to maintain the advantage.
The rest of the first half was dominated by Albright, as it managed to get four corner kicks in seven minutes of playing time, but the Hood defense stood tall to keep the one-goal lead.
James Knowlton (Ijamsville, Md./Urbana) ended up finding himself with a breakaway with less than 10 seconds in the half, but his shot sailed to the right of the goal as the buzzer sounded for halftime.
Coming out for the second half, the Lions continued putting pressure on the Blazers' defense, but once again it would be Hood that had another good chance with Topovich being called on to take yet another penalty kick. The soccer gods were not on his side this time though, as his kick sailed wide left to keep Albright in the game. It was not long after that the soccer gods smiled on the visitors though, as a seemingly innocuous free kick that would have gone over the end line ended up deflecting off of a
Blazers' shoulder and falling to the feet of a Lions' player who put it in the back of the next to tie the game 1-1.
After tying the game, Albright seemed like it would be able to push for the win or be fine with a draw, controlling the play in the Blazers' end, but a critical slide tackle from
Orlando Portillo (Silver Spring, Md./John F. Kennedy) knocked the ball away. After managing to quickly get to his feet and maintain possession, Portillo found Simpler in the midfield who then made a quick lead pass to Funchess. A return pass from Funchess found Simpler just on the edge of the box with space, and the shot from him was slotted beautifully into the back of the net to send the crowd into a frenzy for the senior captain.
Despite holding possession for a majority of the second half and the final 10 minutes, the Lions would not manage another shot on goal before the buzzer sounded to finalize the 2-1 win.
For the Opponent
Anthony Carabasi scored Albright's lone goal.
Analysis
The Lions outshot the Blazers 13-5.
Albright had seven corner kicks compared to just three for Hood.
The Blazers committed just 13 fouls while the Lions were called for 19.
Notes
Hood improves to 10-3-2 (3-1-1), while Albright falls to 5-7-4 (0-4-1) and is eliminated from playoff contention.
Up Next
The Blazers continue conference play as the travel to Owings Mill, Maryland for a match against Stevenson University Tuesday, October 28 at 7 p.m.
