Regional Finals vs. #1 Topeka Seaman

Game 18, 27 October at Seaman (1-0 OT)

Wow. Evan Neely was GOLDEN as Devin Diggs got to the baseline with less than 3 left in OT to T it back through a great Curt Whigham dummy. 

It was a match where Sam Kimball had to make a couple of off-the-chart saves to keep the match at nil to even get to overtime. Check this out!

We did have opportunities, but we offered up pretty weak strikes. And despite many dangerous throw-ins and double-digit corner kicks we just could not find twine. 

I was impressed by how well Seaman was coached and how good their #16 and #10 were. 

BWhite gave a huge shoutout to Sam Kimball and our defense, but he named Joey Caragher the BWhite Player of the Match. My was he special tonight for 90 minutes at holding mid. 

But we were gutsy as a team, and we played so hard. To quote Aubrey Evans "That was fun"!

On to Southwest!

STATS:  

First Half:  Saints: Shots 6 (2). Corners. 5 (Gaspo, Sketers, Gonzalez, Whigham and Gabriel). 

Vikings: Shots 1 (1). Corners 0. 

Second Half and OT:

Saints:  Shots: 13 (7). Corners 7 (Wirt 4, Gabriel 2, Wherry)

2:46 OT. Nealy. (Diggs T through Whigham)

Vikings. Shots. 3 (1) Corners. 1. 

From the Topeka Captial Journal

Seaman soccer season ends with loss to Aquinas in OT

Oct 27, 2016 11:01 PM

A couple weeks ago, Seaman soccer was enjoying an undefeated season, and now, it’s over.

After 80 scoreless minutes against Aquinas on Thursday, the Vikings gave up their first postseason goal 7:14 into overtime, ending their year with a 1-0 loss in the Class 5A regional finals.

Devin Diggs crossed to Evan Neely in the middle of the box, and the sophomore midfielder fired in the golden goal to send the Saints to the state quarterfinals.

“We did what we do,” said Aquinas coach Craig Ewing. “Go to the baseline, Curt Whigham dummied the ball, which drew two defenders, and we got a nice finish right inside the top of the box.”

Seaman keeper Chase Anderson handled several shots on goal, and even more corner kicks, throughout regulation, but was unable to get his hands on Neely’s deceptive strike.

Facing perennial powerhouse Aquinas in the second round was a tough draw for the Vikings, who were unbeaten through 14 games and earned the top seed with a 12-1-3 record. Both coaches said an eighth-seeded Saints team (10-5-3) that has played in three straight title games doesn’t bode well for the rest of the 5A bracket.

“That’s why I say records don’t mean much if you don’t go further than you need to go,” said second-year Seaman coach Craig Rocastle. “That’s life. I can’t fault what they did tonight.”

The Vikings made huge strides this season with seven seniors on the roster, but were on the defensive side of the pitch more often than not Thursday. Anderson’s goalkeeping, Simone Canu’s defense and the length of senior Tanyon Schafer helped keep the Saints from scoring despite frequent set pieces.

“He’s come a long way,” Rocastle said of Anderson. “He pushed (2015 starter) Kyle King to the maximum last year, and stepped in this year, and he’s been fantastic.”

Meanwhile, Seaman had chances of its own, most notably when Alejandro Cabrera had a goal waved off by an offsides call with 26 minutes left in the second half. Conner Poteete recovered the ball after an Ethan Cowen collision, and fed it ahead to Cabrera. A brief celebration ensued before the Vikings realized the flag was raised.

To add insult to injury, Cowen, a senior captain, limped off the field before returning later in the second half.

“That’s the one time I would’ve loved for the flag to not be up on the play,” Rocastle said. “But he was offsides. I’m glad we finished it cause sometimes we don’t. It’s OK. It happens.”

Cowen had another opportunity stopped when he collided with keeper Samuel Kimball and Matt Ewert in the closing minutes of regulation. The defender was given a yellow card, and the Vikings a free kick, but the 25-yard attempt misfired.

The Saints’ attack only intensified late, and their depth played a factor, especially on the goal by Neely, who hadn’t played a minute in the second half.

“Yeah, we could’ve scored earlier, but it’s hard to score on these guys,” Ewing said. “Finally, at the end we did something right. It was kind of exciting. We had some guys with fresh legs who came off the bench, and that really helped us.”

Aquinas001-1

Seaman000-0

Goals - Aquinas: Neely. Assist - Aquinas: Diggs. Shutout - Aquinas: Kimball.