Galax falls to George Mason in Group A boys soccer semifinal
The Galax coach said George Mason, which won 4-0, got the jump on them early.
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Sunday, June 9, 2013
The Galax boys soccer team found an unfamiliar foe on the pitch at Salem High School in the state semifinal.
It’s not that George Mason, the opposing team, was unknown to the Maroon Tide — it’s that George Mason was a better team with sharper offensive execution.
Galax coach Troy Barkley said his team had culture shock against a team that’s as talented as Mason (20-3-1), which beat Galax 4-0 in the Group A semifinal played at Salem High School.
“Typically we’re the team that’s passing the ball around in the games we’ve played,” Barkley said. As the class of the Mountain Empire District and runner-up of Region C, The Maroon Tide (21-2) had outscored its opponents 115-15 in its first 22 games.
“When you play the caliber of team we played today and you give them a 20-minute head start, you’re going to have a hard time,” Barkley said.
Mason didn’t wait 20 minutes. The Mustangs scored in the game’s second minute when Henry
Darmstad ter fed the ball toward the goal from 35 yards out. Sinan Kokuuslu got his head on it and coaxed it into the goal.
In the 18th minute, Paul Darmstadter pushed a floater high over the reach of goal keeper Meisel Solis.
Mason denied Galax any opportunities to put together an attack. In the first half the Tide had possession of the ball for a tiny fraction of the 40-minute period.
The Tide controlled the ball more in the second half, but was unable to move mount a serious threat.
A goal in the 70th minute by Raheem Lawal and another two minutes later by Henry Darmstadter put a wrap on the game.
Henry Darmstadter plays left halfback and was part of a back-line wall that kept the ball away from Mason’s goal keeper, Sebastian Umerez , who was not credited with an official save despite the shutout.
Mason coach Frank Spinello said the defensive effort was one of composure.
“All season long our backs have been playing with composure,” Spinello said “T oday I thought they stepped it up. They worked the ball around, with one or two touches. They made it real tough for Gal ax to get any easy looks.”
Mason played 22 players in the game, a luxury few Group A teams have.
“Were very deep. This is the deepest team we’ve ever had,” Spinello said.
The Mustangs will be trying for their sixth state title in boys soccer today against fellow Region B rival Stonewall Jackson, which defeated Radford in penalty kicks.
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THE ROANOKE TIMES
