The Flyers' tale-of-two-halves 4-0 win over a revenge-seeking Cougars squad Thursday afternoon at Gold Star Stadium on Ott Field brought Chaminade, the United Soccer Coaches' (unitedsoccercoaches.org) 10th-ranked team in the nation, to 10-1-1.
Chaminade had already beaten St. John the Baptist on the road on September 17th, but the Cougars came into Gold Star Stadium with some momentum, coming off a 1-0 road win over the Friars of St. Anthony's.
The Flyers are a team that is known to score a lot; they had 44 goals in their 11 games leading into this matchup against the Cougars.
The team would get their first scoring chance in the seventh minute when Blake Donahue had a shot on goal, but the ball was saved by Cougars keeper Daniel Ospina. In the 12th minute, the Flyers had another opportunity to strike, as Donahue led Jack Dorsey with a pass in the box, but Ospina came out of the net to secure the ball and terminate that chance.
In the 23rd minute, the Cougars had to adjust after their star midfielder Wesley Osorto exited the game with an apparent injury. However, their adjustments worked, as Chaminade went the entire first half without scoring.
St. John the Baptist's offense had struggles of their own, as they only took two shots throughout the entirety of the first half. They didn't have their first scoring chance until the 33rd minute, but the play got whistled dead on an offsides call.
The teams went to the locker room locked in a 0-0 match looking for the spark that could lead them to victory.
St. John the Baptist was happy to see Osorto trot back out onto Ott Field for the start of the second half. However, Chaminade was determined not to let the talented midfielder stop them.
The Flyers offense was motivated and ready to score. In only the second minute of the second half, Dorsey headed the ball, but it hit the crossbar. However, it landed softly in front of the net, and Donahue finished it off to give the Flyers the lead.
The Cougars had to play more aggressively in their attempts to tie it back up, but this aggressiveness caught up to them, as Noah Rosa was issued a yellow card in the 48th minute.
Throughout the first 10 minutes of the second half, Chaminade was dominating offensively. They held possession for the majority of that time and had numerous scoring opportunities.
In the 50th minute, Donahue scored his second goal of the game to give the Flyers a 2-0 lead. Kevin Duffy made a remarkable play to assist Donahue. Duffy had to control possession and use a mere sliver of an opening in the defense to feed Donahue for the finish.
Chaminade now led by two goals, but they weren't done. Just three minutes later, the Flyers scored their third goal of the game, as Jack Veletanga placed a near perfect ball on a corner kick that Franco Ferazzoli, despite being contested, was able to get in the net.
Chaminade, now with a three-goal lead, subbed off Donahue after a great performance from the senior forward. The fans clapped to show their appreciation for Donahue's contributions as he headed to the sideline.
The Flyers scored one last time when Veletanga netted a one-timed goal in the 62nd minute.
Chaminade's defense continued to shine, as St. John the Baptist went the first 25 minutes of the second half without a shot attempt.
When asked about what made the difference from the first to the second half, head coach Brian Anselmo said, "We played less individually, and more as a team."
Coach Anselmo went on to emphasize the importance of both teamwork and hard work, and how that has led to the Flyers' success thus far this season.
The team hopes to continue its recent run of success, as the footies head to Boston this afternoon for their match tomorrow at Boston College High School. Kickoff is at noon. The link to a livestream of the contest can be found here.
