Crusaders secure Section 9 win with a penalty kick
Central Valley. The boys’ varsity soccer game went into double overtime.
| 12 Nov 2024 | 10:16
Lucas Ortiz, #20, ends the game with this penalty kick. (
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Crusaders mob Ortiz after his penalty kick gave the Crusaders the Section 9 title. (
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The Crusaders and their coaches celebrate their Section 9 Championship. (
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On a clear 60-degree night on Nov. 5, the Monroe-Woodbury Crusaders boys’ varsity soccer team traveled to Middletown to take on the Goldbacks of Newburgh for the Section 9 AAA soccer title. The Goldbacks entered the championship game with a 10-6-1 record after they beat Kinston 1-0 in the semifinal double overtime thriller. The #1 seeded Crusaders entered the game with an 11-4 record after beating Pine Bush 6-1 in their last game. The Crusaders had swept the home and away series with the Goldbacks during the season 2-1 and 6-1.
In the first 20 minutes, the Goldbacks controlled the play and pressured the Crusaders defense. But the Crusaders regained control and with 7:44 left in the half, Ryan Dove drilled a shot off the Goldback cross bar. Then with three minutes left in the half, Dylan Nematz headed a ball into the Goldbacks’ net, but the goal was waved off because of an offside call.
During the second half of play, the Crusaders controlled most of the action but were unable to score. The teams finished regulation play tied 0-0. In the first overtime period, the Crusaders again pushed the action into the Goldbacks’ zone. Crusaders Clement Bujaj and Luka Tatanashvili both rang shots off the Goldbacks’ cross bar but still no goals. In the second overtime period, neither team could score, which forced the game to be decided by penalty kicks. In the first round of the shootout, Crusader goalie Justin Sandusky made a save and goals by Tatanashvili, Liam McGee, Siddharth Ranganathan and Dove kept the score even with the Goldbacks.
The Crusaders switched goalies for the next set of shots and Norbert Oseguera Vasquez came up with a big save. That’s when Crusader Lucas Ortiz stepped up and calmly put his shot into the Goldbacks’ net, which gave the Crusaders the Section 9 AAA crown. The Crusaders’ victory brings their record to 12-4 for the season.