Owls Continue Playoff Push

By: Kyle Knopp

As the battle for the fourth and final spot in the MIAA C Conference boy’s varsity soccer playoffs rages on, the Towson Catholic Owls needed to take control of their own destiny. Sitting in third place with 13 points, the Owls have four conference games remaining, two of them against the top two teams in the league.

Towson Catholic set the tone early Tuesday against Indian Creek, who is winless this year in the C Conference, and the Owls came away with a 3-1 victory.

The Owls, playing with a new formation that only had three men back on defense instead of four, wanted to put more focus on offense and work on finishing plays.

“All year we have created opportunities but just haven’t been able to finish,” first year coach Matt Ward said. “We need to work hard to make the playoffs, especially with three teams fighting for the last two spots.”

The Owls came out strong and took control of the game early. Sophomore Kevin Baron got the scoring started as he put home a pass from senior Bryce Parrish. Indian Creek, however, would not go quietly as they responded quickly with a goal of their own by freshman Alex Preston.

The Eagles would not find the back of the net for the remainder of the game as the Owls' new defensive formation put the clamps down.

“We might have been working on too much confidence and they took advantage of it early on,” said Ward. “It has always been defense first for us and we build from the back up.”

It wasn’t until late in the first half that the 1-1 tie would be broken, when senior captain Luke Hahn headed in a corner kick from sophomore Eddie Wunderer

“That was one of our set plays, where we try to get the ball right inside the 6 (yard line),” Hahn said. “The goalie just kind of misplayed it and I was right there to head it in.”

The second half belonged to the Owls as Indian Creek could not create any offensive opportunities. Towson Catholic put the game away early in the second stanza, as senior Jake Yarus made a nice move to cut back inside and then snuck a left-footed shot inside the post.

The 3-1 lead would hold up the rest of the way as Owls goalie, sophomore P.J. Williams, came out to break up a four-on-zero chance for the Eagles.

“We need to work on finishing to get to where we need to be for the playoffs,” Hahn said. “We just have to control the ball more and keep our composure and stay over the top on our shots. If we keep working hard, we will be fine. Right now we are in the hunt for the playoffs.”

Posted Oct. 16, 2008