“Two On”: U17 Strikers and U16 Rapids advance to State Cup Quarterfinals
“Two On”: U17 Strikers and U16 Rapids advance to State Cup Quarterfinals
Well represented in the 2010 Maryland State Cup, the Seneca Soccer Association came away from the Harford Polo Grounds last weekend with three wins and two teams advancing to the “Elite Eight” in their respective divisions.
The U17 Seneca Strikers, who enjoyed a Round One bye as finalists in the 2009 Cup series, battled from behind on Sunday against the Thunder Ajax after giving up an early PK goal on an unfortunate hand ball in the box.
Hugo Coimbra and Richmond Van Winter
But the Red & Black came out as a new team after the half to reassert themselves on a 25-yard blast from Ritchie Reyes (Tuscarora HS - 2008 State Champions).
With the score tied 1-1, however, the Strikers gave up a freekick 23 yards from their own goal – and only narrowly dodged a potentially fatal blow on an acrobatic upper-90 swipe by goalkeeper Eli Lorenzi (Churchill HS).
With overtime looming and a determined Ajax squad pressing, Seneca answered minutes later with a brilliant counterattack out of their own half. Petey Liakakis (Churchill HS) flicked a ball wide to Michael LaRocca (Damascus HS) near the midline, who one-timed an angled and aired ball onto an anticipating Chris Khokhar (Wooton HS) for the finish.
Coaches Ron LaRocca and Lance Van Winter will return with the boys next Sunday against the Potomac Cougars ‘93s, as they seek a repeat of their 2009 run to the finals.
Two Wins in 24 Hours
Meanwhile, in the U16 Division of the Cup, the Seneca Rapids advanced out of Round One for the first time after a high-scoring early-morning match in which they hit 3 goals in 5 minutes of the second half to best the Harford Northern Elite 4-3.
Max Quatrucci (no. 24) scored the only goal in the U16 Seneca Rapid’s
second-round State Cup win over the Casa Mia Bays United.
Forwards Sergio Arrellaga (Quince Orchard HS) and Djamil Lakhdar-Hamina (Walter Johnson) combined for the first strike of the day in the opening minutes of the match. Working hard against four Northern Elite defenders, Arrellaga won the ball and put it through to Lakhdar-Hamina in stride for a 20-yard shuttle run to the box and flick-in.
Afterward, the Rapids endured a long drought as Northern Elite got themselves organized and scored two on set plays to go into halftime 2-1. But the Rapids came out roaring after the half when Lakhdar-Hamina drew a trip foul in the box that PK-specialist Ben Haner (Walter Johnson HS) ripped for the equalizer.
Two minutes later, amid a scrum in front of Northern Elite’s goal, Rapids’ left-mid Toby Wiederkehr (Walter Johnson) made a dizzying solo run through traffic to score handily inside the right post.
One minute later, the Rapids were back – on a smashing 28-yard shot from Max Scarnecchia (Walter Johnson) that hit just inside the right post and pinged wide-left to Wiederkehr, who one-touched a clipper back inside to a waiting Arrellaga for the put-away.
The 4-2 lead proved insurmountable, as Northern Elite made good on their last opportunity (a cornerkick) as time expired.
The next morning, it was the Red & Black defense that rose to the challenge, holding off the powerful attacking game of the Casa Mia Bays United for 80 minutes – to protect a one-goal lead provided by Max Quatrucci (Walter Johnson) on a solo run that caused the opposing keeper to flub a save in front of his own net very late in the first half.
The two teams exchanged attacks and shots in equal measure, but the second half was largely a defensive struggle as neither side could find a clear chance to score.
The Rapids backfield of Justin Frankel, Ben Haner, Nabaaya Tesfu (all Walter Johnson HS) and Yoshi Fujimoto (Poolesville) bent but only broke once.
In the closing seconds, keeper Brandon Riska (Walter Johnson) snuffed Casa Mia’s last remaining hope -- winning a heart-stopping 1v1 challenge near the top of the box to secure the clean sheet.
Coaches Jim Haner and Lance Van Winter return next Sunday with the boys to face the Freedom United.
