by Stephen M. Lewis
DigitalSports
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| Bryan Hughes (right) struggled to find his footing here, but a little later he scored the game clincher in Cosby’s upset. |
It??s over.
Brand
new Cosby ended Thomas Dale??s three-year, 67-game win streak, defeating
the Knights 2-0 in Thursday??s Central Region semifinal at Cosby. The
Titans will face Hanover in the final.
Both teams have earned a trip to the state Group AAA tournament that begins Tuesday.
??I??d like it to have gone on another game or two,? Thomas Dale coach Mark Fowler said. ??Yeah, we??re disappointed. But it??s a lot more people in worse situations than we??re in.?
The contest was a defensive gem for both teams until Cosby??s Nick DeProspero found himself wide open to the left of the goal, one-on-one with Dale freshman keeper William Groben.
The
sophomore forward beat Groben, ricocheting the ball off the right post
and bouncing the leather into the net sending the Cosby faithful into a
frenzy.
??Ben
Jessee worked his way through and just found me wide open,? DeProspero
said. ??I saw a little opening between two defenders. The back post just
opened up wide open for me. I guess that??s a forward thing. Find a
little spot and you have to stick it in there.?
Said Titans coach Mike Anderson:
??I was already celebrating [when the ball hit the post]. If it would
have come back out I don??t think I would have been able to finish the
game.?
Cosby??s Bryan Hughes was able to finish it five minutes later.
Freshman midfielder Adam Nelson
found him in front and Hughes did what he does best for a 2-0
advantage. TD put up a valiant effort in trying to tally a goal, but
Cosby (14-5-1) stayed aggressive and kept the terrific trio of Dustin Heling, Patrick Innes and Will Bates off the scoreboard.
??They??re
fantastic champions,? Anderson said of Thomas Dale (19-1), who won the
previous two state crowns. ??To start the game, to be honest, we were
just happy to be here.?
And
even happier to be the first team in school history to reach the state
tournament. The Titans could be back next season with no seniors on the
squad.
??This
is huge for Cosby because it??s a brand new school,? Hughes said.
??Nobody expected us to make it; even fourth place in the district. Then
we make it into the region. Beat Thomas Dale, give them their first
loss in a long time, and then make it to states.
??It??s landmark right now for Cosby.? |
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