Marmion hands Burlington Central second loss
Wednesday’s outcome was much different from last year’s tie between the Burlington Central Rockets and the Marmion Cadets in the St. Charles East boys soccer tournament.
The Cadets defeated the Rockets by a score of 3-1 on the second day of tournament play.
Midfielder Mike Frasca led Marmion off with a goal midway through the first half, extending his goal streak to seven games. Frasca’s streak is the result of some intense practice; in this case with midfielder Matt Switzer, who assisted the goal.
“The first goal was completely Switzer,” said Frasca. “We practice set pieces all the time. During two-a-days we spent four whole practices dedicated to set pieces, and I decided to start going in hard on those. When I scored my first goal against Marian I knew it worked so I just keep on going hard.”
Defenseman Mick Maley notched the other 2 goals for the Cadets, both assisted by Frasca. Although Switzer’s assist to Frasca was his only appearance on the score sheet, Cadets’ head coach Kevin O’Connor saw a great game from the Midfielder.
“I thought Switzer was terrific in the midfield,” O’Connor said. “He just makes so many people miss, and he connects so many passes. He solidifies our possession game very well.”
Burlington Central’s lone goal was scored in the second half by midfielder Matt O’Connor and assisted by midfielder Paolo Sespene. Matt O’Connor was glad to contribute, but was not satisfied with how the team played as a whole.
“It’s good to get a goal, but our team needs to work better,” he said. “It’s never good to lose.”
Rockets head coach Michael Gecan was also frustrated, but believes his team will have faith in each other to improve.
“The problem we’re having right now is that the team needs to learn to believe in each other,” said Gecan. “It requires a little more leadership; maybe on my part, along with the seniors and the captains.”
With the victory, the Cadets improve to 7-3-4 overall, and the Rockets drop to 7-2-4 with their loss. The St. Charles East tournament will continue Thursday, with Marmion taking on St. Charles East and Burlington Central facing Plainfield South.