Big Red stops St. C, advances to districts
STEUBENVILLE — It’s called survive and advance for a reason.
And, that’s what the Steubenville boys soccer team did Saturday at Harding Stadium.
A Stephen Zeiler goal from Adam DiCarlo gave Big Red a 1-0 victory over rival St. Clairsville in a Division II sectional final inside Harding Stadium.
Steubenville (14-2-2) will play Tuesday in a district semifinal.
The Zeiler-DiCarlo connection happened with 13:53 left in the game.
“Zeiler has worked hard all season,” longtime Steubenville head coach Greg Bowers said. “He led the reserve team in goals with 19. It was his turn tonight and he took advantage of it.
“We had several great opportunities in the first half and didn’t put one in. That’s the frustrating part. We have to know better than to put that pressure on ourselves to know we have to score. It multiplies and, before you know it, you’re not playing the game the way we designed it.
“We were fortunate to get a 1-0 result.”
It was the second straight 1-0 playoff victory for Big Red.
“Our ball movement in the first half was impressive,” Bowers said. “We created a lot more opportunities in the first half than we did in the second. It’s frustrating when you can’t score.
“But, we’ve always prided ourselves on our defense. For Marc (Porter) and that back line to shut out three good offensive players in (Jordan) Vincent, (Bailey) Balcar) and (Kyle) Hendershot says a lot about the defense we played today.”
The Red Devils finished the season 9-10.
“We didn’t change anything (from a 4-1 loss in the regular season), we just tried to play smarter,” St. Clairsville veteran head coach Gary Watt said. “The first time we played them we were diving a lot, and I wanted to make sure we weren’t poking as much today. We wanted to square up, play a solid contain game, be patient and then attack. And, it worked.
“We were a little flat at the beginning of the game. They had some opportunities and I’m glad they didn’t connect. Once we got our feet underneath us, we played solid soccer and it was a good battle.”
The wind played a big role in the game.
“Neither team used the wind as a strength,” Watt said. “You would think the team with the wind at their back would have more of an advantage, but it wasn’t like that today. But, the wind was so strong that ball kept going over everyone’s head. We won the toss and chose the wind at our back.
“I wish I would have taken the advantage of having the wind in my face at the beginning of the game, when we had all the energy going.
“Both teams had more scoring opportunities with the wind in their face.”
Jacob Clevenger made four saves for Big Red, while Ryan Davenport made 14 for St. Clairsville. Both are sophomores.
“We were hoping to have a better season,” Watt said. “If we would have played every game like we played this game, we would have had a better season.
“I’m really excited about what the future holds for us.”
No. 1 Big Red will face No. 3 Maysville in the next round at a site and time to be determind. It defeated Beaver Local, 3-2, Saturday.
The other side of the bracket has No. 2 River View taking no No. 7 Minerva Tuesday.
“We have to be able to finish our opportunities,” Bowers said.
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