HS SOCCER: Dunmore takes control early in boys 2A quarterfinal
Nov. 1—DUNMORE — It took just over 90 seconds for Dunmore to set the tone.
Maynor Castro-Lemus whistled a shot home from just inside the 18-yard line, and he and Tommy Clark both netted a pair of first-half goals as top-seeded Dunmore fought off No. 8 Western Wayne, 6-2, in Monday's District 2 Class 2A quarterfinal at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
"We're a better team once we score first," said Clark, who also added two assists. "We do come back, but we're a lot better team when we score first."
Certainly not the start the underdog Wildcats (7-11-1)
envisioned.
"That was a little bit of a letdown for us," Western Wayne coach C.J. Bayly said. "They get the ball off the free kick and we don't close the space out well, or we didn't in that moment, just kind of lackadaisical at the start of the half.
"Dunmore does very well finishing. They shoot well from range. They make sure they take advantage of their opportunities. Hat's off to them. Every time they had an opportunity, they made sure they put it away."
Santarsiero had a chance to make it 2-0 just three minutes later, but his shot ricocheted off the crossbar.
The Bucks (16-1-2) added to their cushion as Santarsiero made a play to set up Castro-Lemus in the 13th minute, sending a diagonal feed that gave Castro-Lemus plenty of time to pick his spot.
Dunmore's early domination continued when Quinn Davis chipped the ball beyond the far post and Clark banged home a header at 18:45.
"It was a short corner and I hate short corners, but the ball came to the back post and I was just waiting for it and it was easy to place it in," Clark said.
Western Wayne got on the board when Michael Smith took a pass from Timmy Roberts and deposited it at 24:28, but the momentum was short lived as Clark hit a rocket off a 30-yard direct kick to make it 4-1 in the 32nd minute.
Carmen DeNapoli's score off Clark's setup made it 5-1 early in the second, but the Wildcats battled, Jacob Wells' marker off Joey Tickner's setup cutting it to 5-2 in the 53rd minute.
"I was not pleased with the way we played the second half, plain and simple," Dunmore coach Tom Clark said. "I thought we kind of took over the game. I thought the momentum was coming with us. I thought that we were flowing, moving the ball and scoring, and I think we came out (in the second half) a little bit flat.
"They're a young hungry team over there. I give them credit. They fought very hard to the end. We looked like maybe we took a little too much for granted. We can't do that Wednesday."
Western Wayne keeper Alex Chapman made a brilliant save off a direct kick midway through the half, only to see Dunmore's Andy Haser match it 2 1/2 minutes later when he stoned Roberts on a 1-on-1.
"It's a huge momentum shift," Bayly said of Haser's stop. "We score that one it's 3-5, and we had a great opportunity on the back post ball and the guy just didn't make a run. We score that and it's 4-5 and you never know what can happen, right? A lucky bounce here or there and soccer can be a crazy game."
Instead, it was evidence of Haser's evolution in the net.
"Andy's become such a more reliable source for us," Dunmore coach Tom Clark said. "He came in a little bit raw, but as the years have gone on, he's developed a lot more confidence as a goalkeeper and our team has more confidence in him. He's made big saves for us all year."
Chapman did, too, finishing with 15 stops.
"He had one amazing save, tipping it out of the goal and some great 1-v-1 situations with (Castro-Lemus) who had given us trouble all night," Bayly said "He gave us the opportunity to press them as hard as we could and try to get back in. We gave it everything we had and I hope the seniors walked off the field tonight with their heads high."
Santarsiero polished off the win with some nifty footwork and a blast from 10 yards for the final score with under 3 minutes left.
Dunmore will host Holy Redeemer in Wednesday's 6 p.m. semifinal.
Western Wayne (7-11-1) 1 1 — 2
Dunmore (16-1-2) 4 2 — 6
First half: Maynor Castro-Lemus (D) from Tommy Clark, 1:35; Castro-Lemus (D) from Brian Santarsiero, 12:30; Clark (D) from Quinn Davis, 18:45; Michael Smith (WW) from Timmy Roebrts, 24:28; Clark (D), 31:19. Second half: Carmen DeNapoli (D) from Clark, 42:10; Jacob Wells (WW) from Joey Tichner, 52:31; Santarsiero (D) from Castro-Lemus, 77:07.
Shots-corners: WW 12-3, DUN 21-4.
Saves: Alex Chapman (WW) 15, Andy Haser (D) 10.
Scranton Prep 3, Lake-Lehman 1
At Lake-Lehman, Blake Decker and Daniel Palonis scored in the second half to snap a tie and sixth-seeded Scranton Prep surprised No. 3 Lake-Lehman, advancing to Wednesday's semifinal at No. 2 Wyoming Seminary.
Ryan Walsh opened the scoring for the Cavaliers in the 28th minute.
Scranton Prep 1 2 — 3
Lake-Lehman 1 0 — 1
First half: Ryan Walsh (SP), 27:32; Eric Hanley (LL), 31:17. Second half: Blake Decker (SP), 55:38; Daniel Palonis (SP) from Owen Christianson, 70:38.
Shots-corners: Scranton Prep 7-5, Lake-Lehman 9-5.
Saves: Jackson Keating (SP) 6, Andrew Chapple (L-L) 2.
Holy Redeemer 8, Riverside 3
At Holy Redeemer, Mark Atherton had a hat trick, Colin Whitman had two goals and an assist, and Cole Whitman added a goal and two assists to pace No. 4 Holy Redeemer in its quarterfinal win over fifth-seeded Riverside.
Gary Mrozinski scored two second-half goals for the Vikings and Connor McNally added another.
Riverside 0 3 — 3
Holy Redeemer 4 4 — 8
First half: Cole Whitman (HR) from Colin Whitman, 0:34; Cody Quaglia (HR) from Jake Ohrin, 6:29; Mark Atherton (HR) from Connor Zera, 31:15; Colin Whitman (HR) from Nate Stilp, 35:10. Second half: Atherton (HR) from Cole Whitman, 42:38; Atherton (HR) from Cole Whitman, 46:29; Colin Whitman (HR), 50:05; Gary Mrozinski (RIV) from Joey Kulikowski, 52:22; Connor McNally (RIV), 62:26; Aiden Hannigan (HR) from Prem Majamundar, 69:35; Mrozinski (RIV), 76:51.
Shots-corners: Riverside 9-3, Holy Redeemer 20-2.
Saves: Blake Zuby (R) 12, Tyler Tarnalicki (HR) 6.
Wyoming Seminary 7, Lakeland 0
At Wyoming Seminary, Matt Swartz and Thomas Iskra both had hat tricks to pace the Blue Knights in the quarterfinal win. Owen Rowlands added a goal and two assists.
Ryan Lidy had nine stops for the Chiefs.
Lakeland (7-8) 0 0 — 0
Wyoming Seminary (13-3-1) 5 2 — 7
First half: Matt Swartz from Thomas Iskra, 1:25; Owen Rowlands from Swartz, 12:56; Iskra from Rowlands, 15:05, Iskra from Rowlands, 18:15; Swartz from Sam Rolland, 33:31. Second half: Swartz from Rolland, 51:31; Iskra from Owen Stratanski, 54:12.
Shots-corners: Lakeland 6-3, Wyoming Seminary 18-11.
Saves: Ryan Lidy (L) 9, Marc Jackett (WS) and Zack Raklewicz (WS) 3.
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