Both the Cabrini College and Philadelphia Biblical University men’s soccer teams were unable to score through double overtime, resulting in a 0-0 tie on Saturday, Oct. 23 at the Edith Robb Dixon Field.
It was an epic battle of CSAC opponents as well as for the goaltenders and defense for both sides. The Cabrini offense stole the show in overtime with 10 incredible shots on net.
Not only was it an extraordinary game, but it also was a very special night for the five senior players: Troy Allen, King Saah, Steve Reynolds, Mitchel Snodgrass and Mike Viscariello.
The five seniors were honored before the game and during halftime for their last regular season home game as a Cabrini Cavalier. It was evident that the team really wanted to win for the special occassion.
“The seniors worked really hard to win this one,” head coach Glen Jaskelewicz said. “Unfortunately, we didn’t come out on top but they all deserved to be recognized tonight.”
The Cavs had 10 overtime opportunities to score and it was heart wrenching for the crowd, the players and the coach to not be able to capitalize. The Cavs outshot the Crimson Eagles 30-13 throughout the game and had 11 penalty kick opportunities. With those kinds of chances, it turned out that luck just wasn’t on the Cavs side.
“It was a frustrating game to coach and watch,” Jaskelewicz said. “We have to improve on our goal-scoring opportunities because you can’t win without goals.”
It seemed like the Cavaliers were given a golden opportunity with 4:38 left to play in double overtime when Philadelphia Biblical was handed a red card. Unfortunately, the man advantage was not enough to beat the opposing goaltender.
However, Kyle Johnson junior back certainly tried. He was so close to breaking the tie for the Cavs in the final seconds of double overtime when his shot unfortunately hit the cross bar.
“I’m happy with how we played because we really needed a goal in overtime and we went for it,” Johnson said. “I think the team learned that we can’t take anyone lightly. We have to give 110 percent all the time and not just go through the motions.”
Both goaltenders put forth valiant effort during regulation and overtime. Viscariello, Cabrini’s senior keeper, was very happy to leave his mark on senior night by recording his first-career shutout.
“This will most likely be my last game here,” Viscariello said. “It was great to get a shutout on my last night because I’ve never had that before.”
Viscariello had the stressful job of keeping up with Philadelphia Biblical’s goalkeeper, freshman Dave Shaffer. Shaffer made incredible saves in net for the Crimson Eagles all night and robbed Cabrini of a few chances that seemed certain to result in a score.
“There are days when you get lucky and stand on your head and he did it very well,” Viscariello said. “Their goalie really kept them in and they got some really lucky bounces. It was frustrating and stressful because you hope you don’t get a bad chance and you never went to end in a tie.”
Viscariello said that the Cavs will really come out hungry in their next game because of this draw.
With two games left in the regular season, the team needs to win the next two in order to finish in the top four in the CSAC.
For the seniors who had been honored it was incredibly hard to leave without the win but it’s safe to say that the seniors left it all on the field.
“We got a lot of chances but it was just one of those nights,” Saah, senior midfielder, said. “We were expecting to win but the ball just didn’t bounce our way.”
Saah agreed with senior Viscariello that the team will come out ready to win after such a disappointing draw.
“This game is only going to make us work harder to win the next ones,” Saah said. “It ended up just not being our night but the seniors came out to play and we aren’t going to settle with being disappointed.”
