Pontiac

Yellowjackets sting

By Sue Teggart
C & G Staff Writer

Detroit Country Day boys soccer tops Bishop Foley 2-1 in overtime

By Sue Teggart

C & G Sports Writer

PONTIAC — Madison Heights Bishop Foley gave Beverly Hills Detroit Country Day everything it could handle through 80 minutes of regulation, a 15-minute overtime and into a second extra stanza, but it was the YellowJackets that moved one step further in the state tournament after a 2-1 victory.

“We came in with a strategy and a system that we thought we would give Country Day a good game, and we executed it perfectly,” Foley coach John Pisacreta said. “We thought if we came out and outworked them and stuck to our style of play that we would be in it, and we were.”

The Yellowjackets started off fast, as senior Adrian Wright scored off a pass from junior Jeff Rogers five minutes in to give DCD a 1-0 lead, but then the teams settled in for a hard-fought battle.

 Country Day’s 1-0 advantage remained until Foley sophomore Anthony Rice booted the ball from 25 yards out 23 seconds before halftime.

“I give Foley a lot of credit for doing what they had to do,” DCD coach Paul Bartoshuk said.

The Yellowjackets turned up the pressure near the midway point of the second half, as junior Nick Prys and sophomore Kotarq Mitsuhashi had good scoring chances that hit the goalpost.

As regulation play waned, the Yellowjackets had two more good chances to score. The first shot hit the crossbar, and the second, a rebound from the first shot, landed in the chest of Foley goalkeeper sophomore Andrew Claucherty, who recorded 12 saves.

The first overtime was back and forth, as neither team could get a quality chance.  With 10:39 left in the second extra stanza, Wright buried his second goal off a nice cross from Rogers for the game winner.

"It was a good ball, so I had time to keep my composure,” Wright said of the goal that sent his team to the district finals. "It was a really good team effort. I just happened to be on the finishing end."

With the win, the Yellowjackets improved to 14-3-2 and advanced to face host Pontiac Notre Dame Prep at 1 p.m. Oct. 18 in the championship game.

You can reach C & G Staff Writer Sue Teggart at steggart@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1107.