Catholic Central rallies to defeat DLS
The Detroit Catholic Central Shamrocks mounted an improbable comeback to claim a 3-2 victory over the Warren DeLaSalle Pilots in the Division 1 regional semifinals Tuesday night.
Ali Jaffer got the game winner with 50 seconds remaining in the first overtime, slotting a shot from the top of the box past the goalkeeper to put the Shamrocks ahead for the first time all night, 3-2.
“When it comes to my guys, these guys played with heart. They played with goodness, discipline, and knowledge today. That was our whole theme going into this game,” Shamrocks head coach Gene Pulice said. “Win or lose, we were going to play for one another, and I couldn’t be more proud of these guys. You’re down two goals. You’re down a man. We hung in there. We kept the faith. We kept confidence in one another, and we played our hearts out tonight.”
The game-winner was Jaffer’s second goal of the night. He had tied the game with 4:57 remaining in regulation when he banged in a loose ball during a scramble in the Pilot penalty area to make it 2-2.
DeLaSalle had built a commanding advantage behind a fast start. The Pilots opened the scoring just 6:44 into the game when Spencer LeBeau played a long ball over the top, and Craig Fritz got on the end of it and fired a shot from 25 yards out that deflected into the near side for a 1- 0 Pilot lead.
With 29:27 remaining in the first half, the Shamrocks went down a man when one of their players was sent off with a red card. Up a player, the Pilots quickly took advantage with Jonathan Heppler banged in a rebound less than three minutes later.
“Catholic Central is the best team we played all year long,” Pilots head coach Thaier Mukhtar said. “We had the game under
control the whole first half. We talked about the second half (that) they are going to come out fired up. They came out fired up, and give them credit, we made mistakes and they capitalized on it. It seemed like every mistake we made they capitalized on it. That’s what good teams do.”
DeLaSalle would continue in command of play the rest of the first half and came close to adding to their lead a couple times. But ultimately, the Shamrocks survived the half down only two, and then set about dominating play after halftime.
“DeLaSalle came ready. They were prepared. They put the pressure on us early. They deserved their two goals, and they did a heck of a job,” Pulice said.
The Shamrocks had a new level of intensity after halftime, controlling the game despite playing a man short, and Catholic Central got on the board on a Jack Leuker free kick midway through the second half that found the lower left corner.
With the win, the Shamrocks (9- 0- 3) advance to the regional finals where they will take on the Berkley Bears, overtime winners themselves Tuesday night over Grosse Pointe South.
Warren DeLaSalle finishes the year 15-3-3 with two the three losses coming to the Shamrocks.
“We had a great season. A lot of teams would like to only have three losses in 21 games,” Mukhtar said. “I have 16 seniors.”