HS PHS football soccer previews advances
SOUTH BEND — It wasn’t the prettiest win - in fact it was downright ugly late in the game - but Plymouth’s unbeaten boys soccer team checked off another box on their fantastic season by eliminating last year’s sectional champion, South Bend Adams, 2-0, in a Class 3A Sectional 3 semifinal at Jackson Field Wednesday.
“What a game, physical on both sides,” said Plymouth head coach Grant Masson. “We had a chip on our shoulder from losing to them in last year’s final so we said we were going to make sure we won this one.”
the seventh- ranked Rockies (16-0-1) got on the board early and it seemed like it was going to be a one-sided contest, but it didn’t turn out that way. By halftime, Plymouth had already outshot Adams, 6-0, and the Eagles did not get their first shot until the 58th minute - and that was on a restart after a yellow card.
“Some of the problems we had we brought on ourselves by dropping too deep and letting Adams play their game,” admitted Masson. “We are mildly happy with the win. We should be ecstatic, but we can play better than that.”
the first tally came in the ninth minute when junior forward Selvin Pagoada took possession, but was outnumbered 4-to-1. the odds didn’t matter though, as the junior used his speed and ballhandling to get close enough for a shot and his blast zipped into the right side of the goal.
“One-on-four is a win for Selvin,” chuckled Masson. “He’s that good. It’s like having two extra guys up front with him there.”
the rest of the first half was mostly played near midfield, but after the break the Rockies were able to put more pressure on the Adams defense.
“In the second half we made the adjustment of pushing it up more and we told them one goal wasn’t going to do it so let’s push, push, push and good things are going to happen,” Masson said.
Plymouth had a couple of close calls early in the second half - Jose Rosas just missed over the top of the goal after a corner kick scrum, Pagoada went wide right on a sidekick then over the top on a header attempt, and Marco Diaz put one on the post that the Adams keeper knocked away - before Ivan turcios connected a pass to Rosas in the 74th minute for the game-clincher.
the most excitement came about for all of the wrong reasons. Scuffles between Diaz and Adams’ Roberto Moreira increased in the second half and with less than 20 minutes remaining, Diaz took exception to a hard foul by Moreira on another Plymouth player and the two players wrestled on the ground while a few overly enthusiastic fans (parents??) left the stands and went on the field. Red cards were assessed to both Diaz and Moreira, fans were removed from the field and stadium, order was restored and the game finished without any more incidents.
“Both teams wanted to win no matter what, but I hate to see that happen,” said Masson. “that’s not how we play, but that does show you the emotions that are running right now.”
Plymouth will face the
winner of the SB Riley/ Mishawaka contest in Saturday’s championship game at 7 p.m.
• PLYMOUTH 2, SB ADAMS 0
Sectional 3 semifinal
At South Bend (Jackson Field)
P - Selvin Pagoada 9th min
P - Jose Rosas (Ivan Turcios) 74th min
Shots: Plymouth 19, SB Adams 4
Saves: Plymouth 2 (Fernando Pacheco), SB Adams 6 (Fabrizio Proano)
Fouls: Plymouth 15, SB Adams 13 Corner kicks: Plymouth 5, SB Adams 2
Yellow cards: Plymouth 2 (Matute, Baca), SB Adams 1 (Moreira) Red cards: Plymouth 1 (Diaz), SB Adams 1 (Moreira) Records: Plymouth 16-0-1, SB Adams 3-5-1 (final)