Boys Soccer: Magruder 1, Churchill 0

By Ryan Mink
rmink@digitalsports.com

Magruder’s boys soccer team was in the same position as last year, against a talented Churchill team in the 4A West region finals. But this time the teams identity’s were flip-flopped.

Last year Magruder was the offensive juggernaut that Churchill did everything to try to slow down. This year, the Colonels were the defensive-minded scrappers.

And both years, Magruder came out on top.

The Colonels stuck in a goal about five minutes into Tuesday’s game and then clung on tight, pulling out a 1-0 win over top-seeded and previously undefeated Churchill at Richard Montgomery.

“Last year we might have been scoring pros and this year we’re grind-it-out pros,” Magruder Coach Steve Pfeil said.

Magruder (11-2-4) will now face the winner of Perry Hall and Parkville in the 4A North Saturday at the Baltimore County Community College – Essex at 7:30 p.m. Perry Hall is the team Magruder beat in the state finals last year, 5-1.

“I think we can go all the way,” Magruder senior Ifiok Akpandak said. “We’ve been in this situation before.”

Magruder came out aggressive on the offensive end and Bessem Collins Mbu struck a loose ball from about 23 yards out low and hard into the left corner of the net.

“I was happy that I could make it because I know right now, during the game, my teammates count on me so I couldn’t lose the opportunity,” Mbu said. “I had to make it.”

Pfeil wanted to get one more goal and the Colonels didn’t quite pull back right away. But after a few more runs and a couple more chances, Pfeil sent the offense backwards to defend to, as he said, grind it out.

The Colonels have also been in the situation of trying to protect a one-goal lead plenty of times this year. They have surrendered just 12 goals in 17 games this season.

Thus, clinging onto a goal for 74 minutes and 58 seconds wasn’t as daunting as one might think, especially considering Magruder was the only team during the regular season to hold Churchill scoreless as the team teams battled to a 0-0 draw on Oct. 16.

“It’s really key [to score early] because once we score a goal we can just sit back,” Akpandak said. “If there’s one team that can do that, it’s us. We can hold any type of pressure.”

Churchill (12-1-2) struggled mightily to even get many quality scoring chances in the first half. Offensive catalyst Kevin Dansky got plenty of touches but he was quickly met by at least two Magruder defenders who, as Akpandak explained, were told to carry out “in-their-pants-marking.”

Magruder senior captain Robert Niemann was Dansky’s primary shadow and he did an outstanding job.

“Kevin’s a great player, great touch, great speed, obviously great left foot and he makes everyone else around him better,” Niemann said. “But I was up to the challenge. … I’ve been a captain all year and I really had to live up to the moment, this game right here.”

Churchill came together in the second half, however, leaving Magruder back on its heels for nearly the entire 40 minutes. Dansky had a prime chance with 14 minutes, 10 seconds left, but the shot he slid past goalkeeper Stephen Magliaro was just wide of the near post.

But for the most part, despite the Bulldogs' constant second half pressure, Magruder held them without dangerous shots. Churchill’s Sam Bradley took only the Bulldogs’ third shot on goal with 0.0 remaining on the clock in the second half, which required an easy save by Magliaro.

“They scored a good goal and then they worked very hard and defended well,” Churchill Coach Arnold Tarzy said. “That’s been their hallmark all season. They defended better than we attacked, I guess.”