By Dylan O’Loughlin
Scoreless through 53 minutes of play, Wayne finally broke the ice on a corner kick.
Well, so the Eagles thought.
“We just let them play,” Wayne Head Coach Jay Marino said. “They were frustrated and I was able too see how it went down and it’s frustrating, but it was the right call. We just had to get our composure back and we knew it would come.”
It wasn’t until the 77th minute when it would come as the Eagles found themselves in the same exact position again. A corner kick to take the lead.
“I see Charlie [Kelly] lining up for the corner. I see it come through the air and all I’m thinking to myself is ‘This is the goal we need to score. We need this.’ I look at it, I hit it top corner and I was like oh my gosh…we did it,” senior Nicolas Barnhart explained.
Wayne capitalized as Nic Barnhart found the back of the net with a header thanks to an assist from senior Charles Kelly to lift the Eagles (NYSSWA Class A No. 19) to a 1-0 victory over Mynderse for their third straight win.
“We’ve had some games like this,” Marino said. “We’ve been playing with our back to the wall, needing to get that goal in the last few minutes, overtime and we’ve been able to do it. It’s been different guys every game and it was Nic tonight. It was a great goal from a guy working hard all season, a great placement of the ball and nothing the goalie could do to save that.”
The first half of the game was back-and-forth as no team could really gain possession. Each side got a couple of corner kicks, but saves by Wayne’s junior Zach Shoop and Blue Devils senior Nik Balzer kept the score at 0-0 after 40 minutes.
“We just told them how this is the most important 40 minutes of the season,” Marino explained to the Eagles at halftime. “They knew that going into this if we come out on the right side, it’s going to help our seed for sectionals, we’re going to at least become co-champs of the league which was one of our goals. This is 40 minutes that is going to have a huge impact, probably the most important 40 minutes of their careers. They responded and we definitely came out at a different level in the second half.”
The Eagles kept their fast-paced, high energy style of play and smothered Mynderse, maintaining possession for most of the second half. The Eagles garnered multiple corner kicks during the final 40 including one with 27 minutes left in regulation. Kelly delivered a shot to senior JT Lawrence from the corner who took possession of the ball, made a move and found the back of the net. It would have gave the Eagles a 1-0 lead, but it was called off due to an offsides penalty.
Mynderse began to gain momentum after the call. Senior Elijah Doell, second in goals with 28 in Section V started to take over on the offensive end. It was key for the Eagles to slow the senior down if they wanted any chance of winning.
“We just made sure we knew where he was at all times,” Marino said about stopping Doell. “We didn’t man-mark him, we just told our guys just know where he is because he’s dangerous no matter where he gets the ball. We were ready for him, Zach [Shoop] was on his line ready to go and our defenders stepped up.
Doell had the ball most of the time on the offensive end, sending shots from all over the field ranging from opposite goal to fastbreaks and turning defense into offense. But Shoop did not blink in goal for the Eagles, saving every shot. The junior finished with five saves for Wayne’s sixth shutout of the season.
“You kind of know what’s coming for you,” Shoop said. “We know who he is, we prepare for him and the guys in front of me did a good job of shutting him down. My teammates are everything, it’s a team sport and your only as strong as your weakest guy and those four back there, they’re amazing. I give all props to them.”
With the win, Wayne improves to 10-3-2 on the season while Mynderse falls to 7-7-1. It doesn’t get any easier for the Eagles though as they host Naples (12-3-0/NYSSWA Class C No. 12) in a battle for the Finger Lakes League championship.
“We just need another level, we’re going to play a great Naples team,” Marino said. “We wanted to be outright champions of the league and if we win that game that’s what we’re going to be and the guys know that was our goal for the season. We’re going to aim for that and we’re going to be there.”
Wayne looks to win the league championship at home on Thursday, Oct. 15 with a 7 p.m. first kick. For Mynderse, the Blue Devils travel to Penn Yan (10-3-2) for first kick at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday Oct. 15.
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