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Randall Beasley
Click to enlarge photos.By Carlton D. White
Marietta Daily Journal Sports Writer
KENNESAW - The second-round state playoff showdown between defending Class AAAAA boys soccer champion Harrison and 2006 champ Walton ended in controversy Tuesday with the Raiders taking a 2-1 victory at Hoya Stadium.
Taylor White scored on a penalty kick with 18 seconds remaining in the game, beating Hoyas goalkeeper Patrick Martineau to the left.
"It just feels great to get the win," White said. "I knew exactly where I wanted to go with the ball and I was surprised (Martineau) didn't guess right. We know each other pretty well."
With the clock running down and the score tied, 1-1, the second-ranked Hoyas (16-2) cleared the ball from their end, but it was recovered by No. 3 Walton's Andrew Natalino near midfield. Natalino kicked the ball back into the Hoyas' box, where Martineau and Daniel Gnecco fought for possession.
Both players went down to the ground during the skirmish and Martineau was called for the foul, setting up White's winning score.
Harrison coach Jonathan Gross, who wasn't pleased with the call and tried to have a few words with the referees following the game, had to be restrained by his assistant coaches as the officials headed off the field.
"It was a 50-50 battle in the box and we both went down," Gnecco said about the skirmish. "(Martineau) was called for the foul and we got the penalty kick.
"Taylor is the captain of the team and he has a lot of confidence. I knew he'd make that shot."
"(My teammates and I) talked about who was going to take the penalty kick, and I wanted it," White said. "I wanted to win the game and I put the burden on my shoulders."
The contest was a hard-fought match from start to finish. Harrison struck first in the 26th minute when Michael Hansen scored from 10 yards out off a rebounded save from Raider goalkeeper Ben Yabrow. Charlton Gutierrez fed a pass into the box that was collected by Manuel Rosas. Yabrow deflected his shot out into the field of play, where Hansen took advantage to put the Hoyas on top, 1-0.
Walton (13-4) returned the favor in the second period with a Gnecco goal in 43rd minute. White headed Cameron Cooksey's cross into the net, but Martineau made the save. Gnecco recovered the rebound and tied the contest, 1-1.
"It's always a battle when these two teams face each other," Walton coach Bucky Boozer said. "(Leading scorer) Connor Barbaree pulled a hamstring this week, so our guys had to dig deep to win this one. We gave as good as we got (Tuesday) and we matched up well with them. Everybody did their job and I'm really proud of my guys."
Gross echoed Boozer's sentiments, despite the loss.
"It was a fantastic game," Gross said. "Walton played to its strengths. I'm really proud of my guys, though. We got done what we needed to, but things just didn't work out for us in the end."
The events surrounding Walton's penalty kick were not lost on Martineau and White, who play on the same club team and will suit up this fall to play soccer at the University of Kentucky. Martineau wasn't happy about the call - nor the outcome - but there is at least one nice thing to come out of the match.
"It's not the best way for (Harrison) to end it," Martineau said. "It's not the way I wanted us to go out. But, I'd rather it be (Taylor) than anyone else. He's a great friend of mine and congratulations to him."
cwhite@mdjonline.com
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Posted Comments
As a neutral fan, to say the goalie and Walton player both skirmished for the ball is an understatement. The goalie blatantly took down the Walton player in the box. The call was right and a no brainer. This was a very good game that one hated to see end the way it did.
Agree with Joe. It's always a tough call for a ref to make and it took real courage for him to make it. The keeper never clearly had possession of the ball and the Walton player came in to gain possession. That's when the keeper yank him down. Both teams played a very fair, very hard-fought game that should make both schools very proud. Wished the Harrison coach had counted to 10 before running out and getting in the ref's face after the game. Pretty embarassing for Harrison on that one.
What Joe evidently didn't see was that the keeper had the ball and was stripped by the heands, yes the hands, of the Walton player. The keeper did then react, but it was the Walton player that should have been called as having initiated the whole thing. 18 seconds left in the game? The refs should hyave ruled in a neutral manner to let the teams decide the winner through play - not hrough a gimmee from the ref. Shameless call.
With 18 seconds remaining there was no question it should have gone into overtime. Because of the call Walton stole the game from Harrison.
I personally am not a big fan of Walton, just throwing that out there...
whoever said the GK didnt have possession needs to watch the video on this page....keepers get called for penalties when the offensive player has possession and beats the keeper, and the keeper takes out the attacker to stop a goal....this is a 50/50 long ball that the keeper ends up getting control of....watch the video and you will see 2 players battling and the tangling up with each other, and the keeper even comes up with the ball...sad that a game like this had to be decided by an official
I LOVE Dani!!
Harrison's keeper showed a GREAT deal of class to even talk to the reporter after a tough loss like that. Not sure what the kids were doing behind him and probably don't want to know. At any rate, two great teams played a great game and it's a shame somebody had to lose it.
Dani is certainly just superb... He can make the difference!!! Great for him !!!