Raleigh Charter hands defending 1A boys soccer champ Franklin Academy first loss
The Raleigh Charter boys soccer team had nothing to show for 40 minutes of dominance against North Central Athletic Conference archrival Franklin Academy on Wednesday afternoon at the WakeMed Soccer Park.
That changed fast in the second half.
“We are patient when we need to be, but we go to goal fast when we want,” Phoenix head coach Steven Grosso said.
Twenty-one seconds after the whistle to start the second half, junior midfielder Drew DiSerafino’s nifty pass through two defenders found the charging Noah Ontjes, who scored low to the right side to provide the game’s lone goal and give the Phoenix the 1-0 victory.
“Drew put in a great little pass,” said Ontejes. “And I just touched it pass the keeper.”
The win avenged a three-game sweep by FA, keeping the News & Observer’s No. 14-ranked squad unbeaten at 8-0 overall and 7-0 in league play. The No. 4 Patriots, last year’s N.C. High School Athletic Association 1A state champs, dropped to 6-1 overall and in the NCAC.
“We had a game plan, and we abandoned it,” FA head coach John Crosland said. “We wanted to possess the ball and make them work. ... Hand it to Raleigh Charter, they put us under a lot of pressure and we as coaches did not adapt.”
BY THE NUMBERS
11: Straight league wins for Raleigh Charter. The last loss came on Oct. 19, 2015 in a 4-3 double overtime defeat to the Patriots.
9-6: Record for the Phoenix against Franklin Academy since 2010.
17-6: Shots edge for Raleigh Charter.
HIGHLIGHT REEL
Despite the dominance of possession throughout the first half, which led to an 8-3 shots edge and 4-1 advantage in corner kicks, the Patriots nearly got to the scoreboard first.
In the 27th minute, Franklin Academy senior midfielder Juan Rodriguez-Benitez put a nice ball into open space where freshman forward Mateo Echevarria looked to get a breakaway chance.
But in a split-second decision, Raleigh Charter senior keeper Colin Bronack charged off his line and tackled the ball away from Echevarria way off his line where a defender cleared it away.
“We do our research, we know this team has some pacey strikers,” said Bronack, who also had a huge stop late in the second half that ended with a collision with FA’s Cody Holtman. “I know they’re going to get to it very fast, so I had to make a break on it.”
THREE TO KNOW
Colin Bronack, Raleigh Charter: Senior goalkeeper had five saves in earning his sixth shutout of the season. Has allowed just two goals in 640 minutes of play.
Ben Voorhis, Franklin Academy: Senior goalkeeper had seven saves to keep the Patriots within striking distance the entire game. He has allowed just three goals on season.
Chris DiSerafino, Raleigh Charter: Senior defender helped anchor back line along with Harrison Meissner, Jack Adams and Ben Perrin. Had tackle inside box of FA’s Branden Motto that prevented point-blank shot in 13th minute.
THEY SAID IT
“We came here to send a message. This game has been our target. We owed them after going 0-3 last year. And we wanted to protect our field. It’s a great win against a great team.” – Raleigh Charter’s Bronack on the victory.
This story was originally published September 15, 2016 at 1:29 AM with the headline "Raleigh Charter hands defending 1A boys soccer champ Franklin Academy first loss."