By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Gian Malcolm capped a four-goal individual effort with the game winner in overtime as the Aquinas Li’l Irish came from behind to beat Bishop Kearney, 5-4 in the opening round of the 2019 Catholic Cup Friday night at Wegmans Stadium.
Malcolm took a Liam Clifford feed from the right flank, beat a pair of Kearney defenders and tucked the game winner inside the near post.
“I was running to the right side and the defender cut off my lane,” the junior attacker explained. “So I chopped it back and went for the quickest shot I could get.”
Malcolm scored all four of his goals after halftime to lead Aquinas which trailed 2-nil going into the second 40 minutes of play.
Gian Malcolm gathers a Liam Clifford pass and hits the game winner. AQ 5 BK 4 Malcom scores his 4th of the game. pic.twitter.com/yu2ryqku7W
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) August 30, 2019
“We knew we had to push to get back in the game,” he added. “We wanted to win this one.”
Malcolm’s performance overshadowed that of BK’s Evan Stevely who matched Malcolm with four tallies of his own.
Stevely won a foot race in the open field and started the scoring with 14:25 to go in the first half. The junior doubled the lead less than seven minutes later when freed himself of a pair of defenders along the left flank and went far-side netting for a 2-nil Kearney advantage.
“Stevely is unreal,” Aquinas coach Josh Gleason said. “That kid’s a good player. He knows how to find his lanes and do his thing. We tried two different defenses on him, three different guys and he found a way to get his goals.”
Stevely had a chance to add to the lead late in the first half, but Aquinas keeper Jimmy Gizzi denied the attempt.
“The problem in the first half is we tried to play a possession-style game,” Gleason explained. “We tried to keep the ball. We tried to pass around. Our touch was a little bit off. The kids weren’t as sharp as they could have been, so they gave away a lot of passes. When we gave the ball away, they (Kearney) had a clear idea to pump it to Stevely which worked.
“We went into halftime and decided to push up (on offense) and play a little bit more direct. We high pressed their backs into mistakes. Those second balls were the ones that Gian got on.”
Malcolm leveled the match less than 10 minutes into the second half.
Gian Malcolm levels the match with 31 to go. BK 2 AQ 2 pic.twitter.com/bMWJRff4pm
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) August 30, 2019
Stevely and Malcolm exchanged markers before Clifford gave Aquinas its first advantage of the game. Ali Shibani assisted on the play. Stevely netted the equalizer with 1:28 left in regulation.
Gian Malcolm goes to his left for the equalizer. 9:33 to go BK 3 AQ 3 pic.twitter.com/uOnNxeX6Pn
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) August 30, 2019
The game winner started in the midfield where Adam Holt gained control and played it out to the wing for Clifford.
“I heard Gian call for the ball,” Clifford said. “Once I give him the ball, I know he’s going to score. I can give him the ball anywhere. He can dribble through any player. He had three guys on and he still scored.”
“The thing about Gian is he doesn’t realize how special he is,” Gleason added. “You never know what that kid is going to do. He’s a stroke of lightning. He can get hot and do his thing.”
Aquinas advances to meet McQuaid in Saturday’s final. McQuaid beat Canisius, 1-0 i the other first round matchup.
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