Varsity Boys Soccer Double Header: South River vs. Severn; Archbishop Spalding vs. Severna Park

Severna Park High School played host to an athletic double feature tonight as four varsity boys soccer troupes from throughout the region faced off in mid-season and season-opener play alike.

The first two teams to take the field were the South River Seahawks and the Severn Admirals.

Both the Admirals and the Seahawks, who had just come off of a disappointing 0-1 loss on Thursday, Sept. 8, came out fighting, but after several minutes of consistently aggressive back and forth action it became evident that the Admirals had one thing in mind, getting an early lead.

At minute 16:42 Severn HS junior, Tinos Critzos snuck a shot right past South River's keeper for the first and only goal of the game.

Although South River gave Severn High School's keeper a run for the money in the second half, racking up a whopping 11 saves (16 overall), the Seahawks were unable to find the back of the net and had to accept a bitter 0-1 loss.

"We've been working on defending since early August," said Admirals Head Coach Mike McCarthy. "It came in handy today because, in the second half, South River really put a lot of pressure on us." 

As for the Seahawks, South River Head Coach Jeff Vincent says that a lack of communication between the players hurt their performance.

"We're not communicating real well right now," said Seahawks coach Jeff Vincent. "So we really need to improve and start talking to each other a little bit out there, more so than we are now."

The next and final two teams to face off Saturday evening were the Archbishop Spalding Cavaliers and the Severna Park Falcons.

Although this match-up was a season opener for the Falcons, the Cavaliers have already had a string of successful games this season, allowing only one goal in five games.

In keeping with this record of excellence, Archbishop Spalding Senior, Vincent Perez got the literal and figurative ball rolling early, scoring the first and only goal of the half at just 5:22 into the match.

The second half opened with what seemed like a tying goal by Severna Park junior Tim Nelson, but after many confused looks and shouts from the crowd, a foul had been called. This would end up being the last glimmer of hope for the Falcons, as they remained scoreless for the rest of the evening.

Archbishop Spalding, however, was still going strong as the Cavaliers scored twice more, one at minute 50:38 by junior Niholas McCrea, and one at 69:14 again by senior Vincent Perez, to end the game with a 3-0 victory.

"Our midfield was really all over them and the guys up top were working hard," said Spalding Head Coach John Coppola of his team's performance. "We got the early goal, and then had a little bit of a lull for the rest of the first half, but the guys really picked it up again in the second half."

As for the Falcons, Head Coach Roy Dunshee explained that as this is his team's first game, his players may still need some time to get settled in.

"We're still figuring out who we are," said Dunshee. "What's important is how we play in late October and November, and in the State Tournament, and we have to build to that."