Amherst tops Midview in sectional final

After watching his team look uninspired in the first half of their biggest game of the season, Amherst coach Gary Gonzalez gave a passionate halftime speech and it worked.

After watching his team look uninspired in the first half of their biggest game of the season, Amherst coach Gary Gonzalez delivered a fiery and passionate halftime speech, imploring his girls to battle and show some energy. It worked. The fourth-seeded Comets came out swinging as they tallied a scrappy header from freshman Elley Voorhees minutes into the second half, and a late penalty kick from senior Lexi Alston that sealed the deal as they defeated No. 5 Midview, 2-0 in a Division I Elyria district sectional final at the Amherst Soccer Complex on Oct. 18.

The Comets (13-3-1) will advance to face top-seeded Strongsville in a district semifinal on Oct. 22 at 7 p.m in Strongsville.

Coach Gonzalez revealed a snippet of his speech.

“That last 10 and 15 minutes of the first half Midview wanted every ball,” Gonzalez said. We weren’t willing to go and try and

win things. That is just unacceptable, not anytime and not in the playoffs. Its one-and-done, you’ve got to want this one.”

The Middies (13-5) gave the Comets everything they could handle in the early going, piling up the shotson-goal while keeping Amherst goalkeeper Ainsley Steele (seven saves) on her toes throughout the evening.

The Middies just missed out on a shot that sailed into the cross bar to close out the first half.

“I mean, that’s just the game,” Midview coach John Bena said. “When you’re playing a good team like that you have to take advantage of those opportunities, we had them. I felt like we were right where we wanted to be at halftime.”

The Comets came out firing in the opening minutes of the second half, and that’s when everything changed as Alston connected on a corner kick to Voorhees in the 47th minute. The freshman found herself in a physical situation as she headed the ball into the back of net during a collision with Midview goalkeeper Izzy Patarini.

“I went up for the ball, not thinking that the goalie was going to come in diving at me. We kind of both went up and it was kind of like a chest bump. I got more height and more momentum going after the ball,” Voorhees said.

Celebration turned to concern as Patarini (neck injury) laid on the field for over 20 minutes with coaches and medical staff surrounding her. She was eventually taken out via ambulance and play resumed after a 35 minute delay.

Bena was concerned as soccer took a back-seat to the frightening situation.

“That’s just tough,” he said. “This team, they’re like a family, so when you see someone go down like that, it’s just very scary. We’re hoping she is doing OK. We definitely want to find out.”

Patarini finished with four saves.

With backup goalkeeper Paige Kotora thrust into the game, Amherst went on the attack with a handful of shots-on-goal as they desperately tried to tack on another goal.

“When those kids decided to make those 5050’s our balls, then yeah it started to eat at them (Midview),” Gonzalez said.

Minutes after dazzling the Amherst sidelines with some nifty footwork up the field that resulted in a missed opportunity, Merrik Mihalek made sure to come through in a big way as she again battled her way into the box, drawing a penalty after she was knocked to the ground in the 72nd minute.

That set up a penalty kick for Alston (Eastern Michigan verbal commit), and she did not disappoint, powering it to the left of Kotora to give the Comets the 2-0 lead.

The Comets will now turn their attention to the Mustangs.

“It’s pretty exciting,” Voorhees said. “We’re definitely going to have to go and play because it’s not going to be an easy match.”

“We’re not going there to lose,” Gonzalez said.