Dombrowski’s overtime goal sends Athens into regional finals
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
STERLING HEIGHTS — Matt Dombrowski has been a dangerous soccer player for Troy Athens all season.
Playing the flanks, the senior uses his speed to expose the opposition’s marking backs and wide midfielders to gain crosses and through balls to his forwards.
On Wednesday, Dombrowski came through with some scoring touch to keep Troy Athens’ season alive.
Dombrowski scored the game’s only goal with 8:33 left, his fourth of the season, to lift the Red Hawks to a 1-0, double-overtime, victory over Livonia Stevenson in a Division 1 regional semifinal at Sterling Heights Stevenson.
“I was at the right place at the right time,” admitted Dombrowski. “Matt Perkins had a great ball and Tim (Frieman) flicked it and I was right there to (knock it in).”
Perkins used a dangerous long throw in into the box to begin the game-winning play. Tim Frieman flicked the ball off the goalkeeper’s hands and an on-rushing Dombrowski cleaned up the loose ball from one yard out to send the Red Hawks (15-3-2) into Saturday’s regional finals.
A LEG UP: Troy Athens' Max Klitzke leaps high for the shot ahead of Livonia Stevenson's Thomas O'Brien during Wednesday's Division 1 regional semifinal. Staff Photo | Dan Stickradt
“Both teams had a lot of chances,” admitted Athens coach Todd Heugh, whose team defeated Stevenson 3-1 in the regular season. “I thought we had more in the first half with the wind and Stevenson had some chances in the second half. Both teams have a similar style and I thought that a goal might come off a restart.”
Senior Sam Ward started in goal for the Red Hawks with junior Brett Schmitz coming in during the second half and the two 10-minute overtime periods. Schmitz finished with five saves but made four fine stops in a flurry of attempts to keep the game scoreless.
“I thought that we had our chances,” said Stevenson coach Lars Richters, a former state champion and Mr. Soccer winner at Stevenson in the mid-1980s. “We had some great chances there, especially in the second half, and we didn’t get the lucky bounce. I thought that it might go down to a play like that, and unfortunately, the break didn’t fall in our favor. That’s how our sport goes sometimes.”
Both teams had ample chances in the contest. With the wind at its back, Athens controlled play in the first half where they held a 7-4 shots edge and four cornerkicks.
Livonia Stevenson had its fair share of chances, holding an 18-13 shots advantage in the game, including 10-6 with shots directly on goal. Both teams had four cornerkicks in the contest.
Stevenson used the wind in the second half to generate several chances. It was to no avail for the Spartans (14-7-1), who outshot Athens 9-5 in the second half and 5-1 in the two extra sessions.
Athens’ lone shot in overtime proved pay dividends.
Athens, with a long storied history, is in the regional finals for the first time since 2002, when they were upset by Sterling Heights Stevenson 2-1 in overtime.
“We’re looking forward for a chance to play for the regional championship,” admitted Heugh, who played on two Final Four teams at Athens in the late 1980s, including the Class A state championship squad in 1989.
The Red Hawks will face top-ranked Warren DeLaSalle (21-0-3) in the regional finals Saturday, 12 noon, at Sterling Heights Stevenson. DeLaSalle, ranked 19th nationally by ESPN, rallied for a 2-1 victory over previously-unbeaten Utica Eisenhower in the second regional semifinal.
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Category: High School, High School (M-Z), Troy Athens
