Schweitzer Finds His Groove, As Wildcats Boys Soccer Team Keeps Playoff Hopes Alive With 3-0 Win Over Dutch; Will Host Punxsy On Monday (Senior Night)
(Photos courtesy of Mark Bettwy – Above: Dany Schweitze)
(By Mark Bettwy) With a 10-4 record, the Flying Dutch soccer team traveled to the Lions Den on Saturday (October 11th) with hopes of easing into the playoffs.
Central Clarion had other ideas.
The 3-0 victory over St. Marys at Clarion-Limestone High School was a complete team effort coming from one that has had problems with consistency at times this season. Injuries, a tough schedule, and some bad luck have hampered productivity and led to the current predicament. On the brink of elimination from playoff hopes, Central Clarion needed two victories in their final three games of the season. They came up short though on Thursday in another overtime heartbreaker, losing to Brockway 3-2 on a breakaway. That meant Central Clarion had to win the remainder of their games, starting with the Dutch.
The defense was anchored again by goalie Tyler Brown. Brown stopped numerous shots throughout the game, several of which were assuredly going to hit the mark if it weren’t for him.
The defensive unit in front of Brown was solid the entire day. Chris Kim, Isaac Hogue, Chance Hetrick, Trey Hooks, and Chris Beverage foiled repeated attempts by the Dutch, leaving them with nothing but a goose egg on the scoreboard to show for their efforts.
It was the same in the center of the field; Sampson Gao, Quinn O’Neil, Kason Keihl, Wyatt Aaron and Dany Schweitzer rotated throughout to trap balls and control play.
They found open Wildcats and connected on outlet pass after outlet pass to begin new offensive drives.
Up front, the offense kept pushing the entire time. Nathan Frederick, Ky Clark, Martin Ormeno, Mason Nimelli, and Brendan Bettwy kept working the ball to find seams and create scoring opportunities.
The Wildcats controlled a significant amount of the possession time beginning with the starting whistle but it wasn’t until twenty-five minutes into the game that Brendan Bettwy connected with a streaking Dany Schweitzer. Schweitzer split the defense and capitalized on a goalie bobble, tapping the ball into a yawning net for the easy score.
The Wildcats struck the second time with six minutes remaining in the first half when Bettwy carried the ball deep into the left corner. His crossing pass found a perfectly positioned Martin Ormeno who tapped it in for the second tally.
The final score came from Schweitzer again on another Bettwy pass, this one with nine minutes remaining.
Central Clarion hosts the Punxsutawney Chucks on Monday, October 13th, for Senior Night. This will be their final game in the regular season, beginning at 5:00 PM.
(Addendum)
Approximately 200 students attended the Clarion Area High School’s annual Homecoming Dance. Approximately 200 students attended the “Pirates of the Clarion River” themed dance at the school on Saturday, October 11th.
(Way To Go, Wildcats!!!! Thanks to Mark Bettwy for the article and photos!!)