BOYS SOCCER: Athens cruises past Warren DeLaSalle to reach regional finals; Chippewa Valley edges Rochester Adams in 2OTs
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
TROY — After losing in the district finals last season as the state’s undefeated and No. 1-ranked squad in Division 1, Troy Athens is making the most of its postseason opportunity this time around.
The second-ranked Red Hawks cruised past unranked Warren DeLaSalle, 4-0, Tuesday night in the first Division 1 regional semifinal at Troy High School.
Athens, which tasted sudden defeat last year in a 1-0 loss to Utica Ford despite a 21-5 shots edge in the district finals, scored three first-half goals against DeLaSalle and grounded the Pilots with another goal in the second half.
Athens (20-2-1) will face Clinton Township Chippewa Valley at 6 p.m. Thursday at Troy for the regional championship. It makes the Red Hawks’ first trip to the regional finals since 2016.
Chippewa Valley defeated Rochester Adams, 2-1, in double-overtime inTuesday’s second semifinal.
DeLaSalle (12-8-4) reached the Division 1 Final Four last season and captured its 28th district title last week in the past 31 years. The Pilots could never solve Athens senior goalkeeper Jason Kemp, who notched his 15th shutout of the campaign and 31st over two seasons for the Red Hawks.
Sophomore midfielder Ryan Gruca scored bookend goals, including what proved to be the game-winner, in the 26th minute to give Athens a 1-0 advantage.
Senior midfielder Anthony Kapala and junior forward T.J. Renaud scored less than two minutes apart with the second and third goals coming in the 37th minute and 39th minute, respectively, to make it a three-goal cushion at the break.
Gruca added the final tally in the 61st minute to cap the scoring for the Red Hawks.
Athens, which is going after its first state title since 1997, has outscored four postseason opponents by an 11-0 margin. The Red Hawks hold a 70-9 scoring edge over 23 games this season.
Last season Athens finished 21-1-0 and yielded just seven goals in 22 games. The Red Hawks have surrendered just 16 goals in two seasons spanning 45 contests.
Only eight schools have even scored on Athens this season and just one school, Clarkston, has scored two goals against the Red Hawks.
Athens is 8-2-0 over its final 10 games, losing late regular season contests to 15th-ranked Holt and unranked Clarkston. The Red Hawks also had a pair of starters out with injuries, including leading scorer Renaud, an All-State Third Team pick last season.
CLINTON TOWNSHIP CHIPPEWA VALLEY 2, ROCHESTER ADAMS 1 (2OT): Adriano Pjetrushi has a flair for the dramatic.
The senior forward scored with 7:14 remaining in the second overtime period in leading the Big Reds to this thrilling double-overtime victory over the Highlanders.
Anthony Prenkocevic drew the assist on the game-winner and lifts Chippewa Valley into Thursday’s 6 p.m. regional finals at Troy against second-tanked Troy Athens, which blanked unranked Warren DeLaSalle 4-0 in the first semifinal.
Ethan Maxwell finished with 12 saves for Adams, including two point-blank range saves in the first overtime session. That set the table for Pjetrushi’s late herorics.
Kyle Quimet scored in the 80th minute for Adams, scoring off a cross from David Dinoto with 26 seconds left in regulation.
Prenkocevic netted the first goal in the 22nd minute for Chippewa Valley (16-3-0), the Macomb Area Conference Red Division co-champion which holds a 51-22 scoring edge this season and is 8-2-0 over its last 10 games.
The Big Reds were ranked 12th in the first polls of the season after a 5-0-0 start, but dropped from the top 15 after that despite winning for a 16th time in 19 starts.
Imari Ramos made 10 saves in a winning effort for Chippewa Valley, which is playing in the regionals for the first time since 2014.
Adams finishes with a 8-12-2 record, the first time in the 39 years of the program the Highlanders finished below five-hundred.
Adams played the final 60:38 minutes of the contest down one man due to a red card.
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