Defeat tastes bitter for frustrated Marmion
No one ever said soccer was a fair game.
One team can dominate the flow of a match, controlling in every aspect to concentrate wholly on scoring opportunities. The opposing team can be forced into defensive mode, exerting all its energy toward protecting its goal while patiently waiting for a few scoring chances of its own to develop.
There was no question that the Marmion boys soccer team controlled the pace of Tuesday's Class 2A Barrington supersectional contest against Freeport, but its inability to take advantage of scoring chances, stellar play by the Pretzels' defenders and goalkeeper Scott Kesler, and a disputed call and a questionable no-call by the officials ultimately brought the Cadets' season to a close.
Freeport (21-2-4) defeated Marmion 2-1 in double overtime to advance to Friday's state semifinals at North Central College in Naperville.
"I don't think they had 5 shots the entire game, including the overtimes," Marmion coach Kevin O'Connor said. "We did everything but win the game."
Knotted at 1-1 in the second overtime, the Pretzels profited when it mattered most. Jared Brendemuehl tracked down a long lofted ball but Cadets goalkeeper Bradley White redirected his breakaway shot. Freeport junior midfielder Devin Edwards played the carom perfectly, though, and his rebound shot was too much for White to handle.
"I don't think I've seen a guy that clearly offside in my entire life," O'Connor said about the play. "This game in my opinion was not decided by the players on the field. That's an absolute travesty to the players."
O'Connor was equally displeased earlier in the match when Freeport's Nick Dace was ruled to be have been knocked to the ground in the box. Dace was awarded a penalty kick with 2:35 remaining in the first half and blasted a game-tying goal past White.
"They got a gift PK," O'Connor said. "An absolute gift in the first half."
Marmion (21-6-1) ended Kesler's bid for a 19th shutout and took a 1-0 lead at 7:48 in the first half thanks to the acrobatic play of Max Rosenfelder. With his back facing the goal, Rosenfelder received a nice pass from sophomore Mike Frasca and sent in a bicycle kick shot past Kesler.
"I practice it on my trampoline all the time," Rosenfelder said. "It's just something fun we always do, and I just connected right this time and it went in. It was a nice ball from Frasca coming in so I figured why not try it?"
The Cadets severely limited Freeport's opportunities on goal while coming up empty on its own chances on numerous occasions. It extended into the first overtime as the Cadets failed on three shots, and possibly had one taken away on no call on what appeared to be a handball in the box.
"We had all the shots in the world but couldn't put them away," Rosenfelder said. "We had some quality chances in front of the goal and defenders made some good blocks and the keeper had some good saves. But we played our hearts out and that's all we can ask of this team."
It's a team that won't be forgotten anytime soon. The Cadets won its first ever soccer sectional this season and went on a magical run of 15 consecutive wins.