High school 3A soccer tournament: Soaring Eagle edges Ravens

DRAPER — Featuring a defensive battle in the first-half and a opportune goal in the second, the Juan Diego Soaring Eagle eked out a gritty 1-0 win over Waterford at Juan Diego on Wednesday.

With the win, Juan Diego advances to meet Park City in the 3A quarterfinals on Saturday.

Although the Soaring Eagle had control of the ball for the first 10 minutes in the first half, it was Waterford who got the first shot on goal with a beautiful left-footed kick by Jon Orr.

Juan Diego's goalkeeper, freshman Cory Thibeault saved six shots in the first-half, including two in a row when he deflected a smashed attempt off a cross right into Waterford's Vincent Otiede and then dove on the ball just

as Otiede was attempting to kick it in on a straight shot.

Waterford's goalie, Eric D'Astous, playing behind some strong defensive clearing by Raven defenders Misha Falk, Blake Peterson and Matt Johnston, saved three first-half shots on goal.

In the second-half, with the wind on their side, Waterford almost completely controlled the tempo of the game. The Ravens had six shot attempts before the Soaring Eagle even got its first (of only two).

Juan Diego made the most of it, though, when, during the 19th minute, sophomore Marco Serrato kicked an incredible corner that powerfully curved right into Waterford goalie D'Astous. Off of D'Astous's deflection, Juan Diego freshman Skyler Doran netted only his second goal of the season by pounding the ball right past the Waterford goalie into the right corner of the net.

"We've been working on corners and set pieces and this just played right into it," Juan Diego head coach Scott Platz said. "It was an inside winger that Skyler just played perfectly."

The relentless Waterford offense continued to make pound the ball, but Juan Diego's resiliant defense, featuring Anthony Rainaldi, Greg Mazzini and Thomas Padjen, and goalkeeper Thibeault continued to deflect shot attempts and passes, frustrating the Ravens.

"Our defense has really been our strong point this year," Platz said.

"Rainaldi has been an anchor for us. He's a captain as a junior and that doesn't happen often."

Although the Ravens had several more shots on goal following Juan Diego's score, the Soaring Eagle were able to clear the ball into offensive territory more often in the final fifteen minutes, outlasting Waterford for the win.

"When things are going against you, you've just got to stay mentally strong," Rainaldi said. "We all had it in our heads that we were going

to win, so we just played that way."

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