BY DAN STICKRADT
WEB AND CONTENT EDITOR
Twitter: @MiSoccerNetwork and @LocalSportsFans
STERLING HEIGHTS -- After surrendering five goals in a 5-4 setback to Grosse Pointe South in late August, Utica had to make some changes and tighten its defensive grip.
The Chieftains have faired quite well other than that second-half collapse against the Blue Devils and moved to 8-2-0 on the season with another stingy defensive effort in a 1-0 triumph over rival and defending MAC White Division champion Utica Ford II Monday night at Runkel Field on the Sterling Heights Stevenson complex.
GET YOUR MSN GEAR NOW
“It is a great start (to the season),” smiled Utica coach Carl Territo. “Tonight was a great classic (MAC) White battle, crosstown rivals with Ford. We go back and forth every time we play this game here. We stepped up and won most of the balls out of the backline first time which was key for us. Then we created some opportunities and we finished one.”
Utica went on to post an 11-9 shot edge, with both teams trading four shots on frame. The Chieftains also held a 6-2 edge on cornerkicks. Utica just had to keep grinding away to gain that one special opportunity.
“We really did just have to keep grinding as well. Keep griding it out and when your opportunity comes you have to burry it,” continued Territo. “We won on a PK. It was well deserved and we finished it.”
Centerback Luke Cacaj, one of the 17 seniors on the Utica roster, said his team is improving and has a goal in mind to be both a solid defensive team and contend in the MAC White Division this season.
“We’ve known these guys for years now. We’re friends on the team. And it all comes down to you got to do what you do (best) and no matter if it’s a 50-50 tackle or win the ball (in the air) you have to do your best,” said Cacaj.
“The (Grosse Pointe) South game was not good on our part – miscommunicating and who know how it is,” continued Cacaj while reflecting on that recent 5-4 loss. “This game we had more communication, more of who is marking who, more talking on the field and that’s the reason we were good today.”
It was the first shot on frame of the second half for Utica (8-2-0, 1-0-0) that ended up being the game-winning shot. After a teammate was tripped up in the corner of the box, senior midfielder Dustin Komolsan drilled the ensuing cornerkick into the left upper 90 of the net with 13:01 remaining in the contest.
Utica’s defense held strong, allowing just one shot on frame in the second half and the two early cornerkicks to hold the Falcons (2-5-0, 0-2-0) off the scoreboard.
Senior Dominic Jarbou – another those one of 17 seniors on Utica’s roster – finished the night with four saves for his team’s seventh shutout of the season. The Cheiftains have outscored its first 10 opponents 45-9 with only Grosse Pointe South (5-4 loss), Utica Eisenhower (3-0 loss) and Lake Orion (3-1 win) scoring on Utica’s improved defense.
Utica began the season 5-0-0 with a 24-1 scoring edge before the defensive meltdown to Grosse Pointe South. Even though Utica’s defense still allowed three goals against powerhouse Utica Eisenhower, the Chieftains have played well overall except for the second half against South.
“We just had an off night,” offered Territo. “When we watched film we diagnosed it rather quickly what the problem was and we fixed it. From there we just try to preach (getting) a clean sheet first and foremost and things will happen if we do that. And we let our offensive opportunities happen and finish those and go from there.
“When you have 17 seniors that are hungry, they want to do what it takes to win,” added Territo.
Utica simply stifled Utica Ford in this match, rarely allowing the Falcons to sniff their penalty box with the ball.
Ford, which finished 11-5-4 overall last season and 7-0-3 inside league play, featured some high-powered offense at times last season behind a 47-22 scoring edge while collecting eight shutouts defensively in 2022. This year the Falcons are still trying to mold into a cohesive unit, only outscoring the opposition 8-7 with only one shutout but have been shut out in four games. Five of the eight goals scored came in a 5-1 MAC crossover victory over Warren Mott (5-1 win).
“Every year is a little different. You have to navigate each individual team (differently),” said Ford coach Christopher Alston. “We are a highly-athletic group (this year). We want to be a little bit more compacted defensively. I think we are athletic and fast enough to find counter-attacking opportunities. You look back with the boys – I think we had the amount (of chances) needed to win today. We didn’t put them into the back of the net. We’re going to have to work on creating more. If it’s going to take us four chances to get one and it’s not working out we’re going to have to get to six or eight (scoring chances). Our defense is usually pretty stingy. That’s the second PK we’ve given up and we’ve lost two games on 1-0 based on (penalty kick) goals. Half of our game plan is being executed well by our boys. It’s just that final piece of putting the ball into the back of the net for some reason has been really difficult for us. It really has.”
Kommentare