Berkley in regional final after OT win
Cooper Bishop scored in overtime, and the Berkley Bears escaped with a 1- 0 win over the Grosse Pointe South Blue Devils in Tuesday’s Division 1 regional semifinal.
Jacob Schleicher ripped a corner kick into the penalty area in the dying moments of the first overtime and Bishop headed it home for his first goal of the year at the most opportune time possible for the Bears.
“It was a set play. We practice that one a lot in practice many times, and it finally pays off,” Bishop said.
The Bears had nearly ended the game in regulation when Schleicher ripped shot off the crossbar with less than two minutes remaining in the second half. But it was not to be in a game that was dominated by the defenses.
The Bears finished up with only four shots on goal among their 12 total shots, but Bishop’s goal was enough.
“We studied the team. We knew about free kick and corner or long ball. We played our game. It was pretty good. We knew to stay high, but at the end one corner is going to score,” Blue Devils head coach Francesco Cilano. “It was an equal game. It was nice.”
The Blue Devils finished with 13 shots, including six on net – with half of those shots on goal coming in the second overtime as Grosse Pointe South sought an equalizer led by the play of senior captain Rene Robert.
After an uneventful first half
that saw each team manage just one shot on goal, the offenses finally got things going a bit in the second half. The teams traded quality chances around 10 minutes into the second half, but both goalkeepers Bennett Smihal for the Blue Devils and Ryan Serwa for the Bears - came up with similar sliding saves to keep the game scoreless.
“We kind of reorganized some things at halftime, and the boys came out with a lot of energy in the second half and created a lot of opportunities,” Berkley head coach Steve Wloszek said.
In fact, both keepers were very sure handed on a wet night, often going their best work to claim crosses.
“With as wet as it was tonight, you’re expecting the ball to skip out, and bad deflections, and miscues. And everything that came into his box he (Serwa) gobbled up and didn’t give up any rebounds, and that’s what kept us in the game tonight,” Wloszek said.
With the win, Berkley (11-3- 4) advances to the regional final on Thursday where it will face Detroit Catholic Central.
“We know we have a great opponent ahead of us,” Wloszek said. “We know that Thursday’s going to be a battle. We’re proud of where we are, and like every team at this point in the season you want to keep going.”
Grosse Pointe South (8-61) bows out in the regionals for the sixth straight year.
“We’re doing just fine. Grosse Pointe South, no school choice. We have our players. We work hard,” Cilano said. “I think it’s just my hats off to these players that they competed with a big school, and big travel players, and I’m very happy. It was a great season.”