Springfield slips past U-32, 1-0

In a game of big plays, there were two that stood out as Springfield scored the game's only goal against a U-32 team that spent all afternoon knocking on the door, but couldn't get in.     Photo
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20121024/SPORTS02/710249907

Published October 24, 2012 in the Rutland Herald Springfield slips past U-32, 1-0 By POODY WALSH Correspondent SPRINGFIELD — In a game of big plays, there were two that stood out as Springfield scored the game’s only goal against a U-32 team that spent all afternoon knocking on the door, but couldn’t get in. The down-to-the wire 1-0 Springfield victory Tuesday at soggy Gurney Field sends the Cosmos to the Division II quarterfinals on Saturday at Burr and Burton. The No. 1 Bulldogs whipped Fair Haven 9-0 in their playdown game. U-32 coach Joe Ferrada summed up what kind of day it was for his Raiders when he said after the game: “It’s not how long you possess the ball, but what you do with it, and we didn’t put it in the net.” Of the two key plays, the one that was perhaps the most critical came with about 12 minutes to go. U-32 was deep in the offensive zone when Springfield keeper Tim Hildreth came out to play a bouncing ball. However, it took a crazy bounce, got over the outstretched arms of Hildreth and was headed for the goal. It would have rolled in if defender Jordan Crowley had not circled back and kicked it free. “We have a low-quality field,” Hildreth said in reference to the bounce that got away from him. “Jordan saved me.” The field that Hildreth talked about does not drain well and the rains of the last week made it sponge-like, leading to a lot of slipping. To explain the game’s only goal, perhaps it is only fair to go back to midseason when the Raiders lost their senior goalkeeper and center-half to broken collar bones in the same game. Tuesday, just moments before the game was to start, Ferrada had not decided who was going to be in the net, eventually selecting freshman Derek Cote. The ninth-grader let only one ball get by him and it came with 30:02 to go in the second half as Dean Bactad, who can really scoot, took a through-ball from midfielder Peter Kendall. As Cote came out to challenge the play, Bactad let it fly and it went under the arms and through the legs of the freshman. Kendall, son of Springfield coach Paul Kendall, said that his team may have caught a break here and there, “But we haven’t played our best soccer yet.” Springfield, the eighth seed, gained the home-field edge by winning its final two games, while U-32 had a tie and a loss in its last two outings, finished ninth and had to make the trip from East Montpelier. The Raiders finish at 4-9-2 while Springfield takes a 7-7-1 mark to Manchester on Saturday for a 1 p.m. game. U-32 ended up with an 11-5 edge in shots on goal and came oh, so close many times. “That’s been kind of the way the season has gone,” Farrada said. After Springfield got the game’s only goal, the Raiders felt the need for urgency, but Springfield, which was strong defensively in the second half, was in the right place at the right time on some occasions and was a bit lucky at other times as the shots, some hard and from in close, were off the mark. With 11 minutes to play and pressure mounting, U-32 senior Connor Hirsch, who displayed solid foot skills all game, slid a pass to Zach Elmore, who missed from in close. Moments later, Elmore was a recipient of Russ Johnson cross and got a hard shot off the went wide, Elmore dropping to his knees in frustration. Paul Kendall wasn’t throwing the ‘lucky’ word around, but he knew that his club escaped on this day. “The first half was scary, but I thought we made some adjustments at the half that helped,” said the coach, who as a collegian was a midfielder at St. Bonaventure. “I thought we were in kind of a panic mode in the first half, but settled down in the second half. “Our transition game picked up.”