BOYS SOCCER: Troy defeats rival Troy Athens for first time since 2010
Colts finally take home Soccer City Cup for first time in 11 years
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
Twitter: @LocalSportsFans
TROY — The last time Troy got the better of rival Troy Athens, J.D. Armstrong was in early elementary school.
That was 2010 to be exact and Armstrong was in first grade.
After a decade-plus of ties and losses to the state powerhouse Red Hawks — the Division 1 second-ranked Colts finally enacted some measure of revenge on third-ranked Athens with a 2-0 home shutout Tuesday in OAA Red Division play.
Thanks to Rochester Adams’ 1-0 upset of top-ranked Berkley on Tuesday, the Colts are in control of their own destiny, as they will try to win their first league title since 2011 over the next week.
“It’s been a really long time and we really wanted this,” said Armstrong, a senior center back and third-year starter. “We’ve dreamed about finally beating them because it’s been so long. We had a big zero up on the board the whole game which is a big help. Our defense has played great and our starting goalie has been hurt but our backup has stepped in and did a great job.”
Troy (12-0-4, 4-0-1) remains one of the few unbeaten teams in the state’s four divisions and are unbeaten into October for the first time since 1993.
Troy scored a goal in each half and dodged some bullets along the way to snap the streak.
The Colts netted what proved to be the eventual game-winner
in the seventh minute. Junior forward Nick Worrell dribbled down the right side, beat a defender before slotting the ball to the top of the box. Junior forward John Palomino corralled the pass before slipping a left-footed blast into the corner of the goal from 16 yards out with 33:52 still left in the first half.
Troy finally put the game away with a goal with 45.1 seconds remaining in the game. Senior midfielder Ryan Decker was left wide open in the middle of the box and he uncorked a 12-yard shot into the net. Junior midfielder Mark Lisnyy drew the assist with his cross from the left corner.
Junior George Hildebrandt, who began the year as a third-string goalkeeper, notched eight saves for his team’s eighth shutout of the campaign.
Athens, which has captured four league titles in the last eight seasons including three straight, now has two losses with four league games to go in the loaded OAA-Red, which features five ranked teams in the D-1 Top 15.
“It’s not like we didn’t have chances,” noted Athens coach Todd Heugh. “We hit the crossbar, and they cleared the ball off the goal line or near the goal line twice in the game. We tuck one in there and the result might be different.
“We’ve both had similar numbers this year. They’ve scored (42) goals and given up 10 this season, and we’ve scored 35 goals and given up seven, well actually nine counting the two goals allowed tonight,” continued Heugh. “We just couldn’t put one away tonight. We’ve now lost more league games this year than we had the last three league seasons combined.”
Troy finished the night with a 16-12 shots edge, including 9-8 with shots on frame. Both teams traded off three cornerkicks.
“We had some other chances where I felt we should have buried and that was before they had their best chances. We could have put the game away much earlier,” added Stachura. “But we still won and that’s what matters. We won the Soccer City Championship and now we have goals of winning some more championships the next few weeks.
”The boys wanted this really bad. It’s been 11 long years since we beat them and this was one of our goals this season,” added Stachura. “We have played really well all season giving up only (10) goals and we’re fast and deep. When we’re playing well we can compete with anybody in the state.”
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