Tigers conquer Summit

FARMINGTON, Mo. -- What a difference two weeks can make.

The Central boys soccer team ended its regular season Oct. 26 by suffering a 5-0 blowout at the hands of Rockwood Summit. Just 13 days following that rout, the Tigers faced the Falcons again, this time in a Class 3 state sectional game.

Central rolled out to a 4-0 lead and held on for a 4-1 victory Tuesday. The win was just the program's second in 11 sectional tries.

Central (22-5-1) will play Vianney at 7 p.m. on Saturday in a quarterfinal game at the Anheuser Busch Soccer Park. Vianney (21-5-2) defeated Hazelwood Central 5-3 in a penalty kick shootout after the teams were tied 0-0 through regulation and four overtimes.

For a team dominated in its previous meeting with the Falcons (19-7-2), Central seemed to have all the energy and momentum right from the start. The Tigers out-passed, out-communicated and simply out-played the Falcons.

"That's maybe the best turnaround in Cape Central soccer," Central coach Tom Doyle said. "To get beat 5-0 then win 4-1, in 16 years [at Central] that's not too bad."

One of the differences from the first game was a healthy Cody Gaither. Central's senior defender missed the last five games, including three of the team's losses down the stretch. But Gaither played nearly 65 minutes of the game on Tuesday.

"What do you think?" Doyle said when asked if Gaither made much of a difference. "Eighty percent, maybe 75 percent difference. You could see the whole defensive unit was smoother."

Added Tyson Whiteside: "I think that's the best game we played all year. It's better to have Gaither back. He makes it work back there. I think the defense as a whole played better back there."

While Gaither was not 100 percent, his presence in the backfield seemed to have a calming affect on the whole team.

Gaither said at first he was scared to play for fear of seriously injuring his knee, but once he got settled he felt good.

"The adrenaline kicked in and I started playing my game," he said. "I knew I wasn't 100 percent out there; I just had a lot of heart."

Things could not have gone much better for the Tigers in the opening half. Whiteside staked the Tigers to a 2-0 lead with a pair of goals in the opening 10 minutes of play. Lance Altenthal picked up the assist on the first goal, and Sam Bornstein found Whiteside on a crossing pass for the second.

"Tyson, his first two goals were so important," Doyle said. "Both went right off the corner post and went in.

"I asked for a goal in the first 10 minutes, and Tyson scored one in the first 3 minutes and another one in the first 10 minutes."

Not only did Central open a two-goal lead in the opening half, the Tigers also made a statement by completely dominating the half. Central had about five to six dangerous scoring chances, while Rockwood Summit's best chances weren't shots on net. The only tricky play Central goalie Jordan Young had to make in the half was snagging a cross early in the game.

In the opening half, the Tigers guided the ball from player to player with one- and two-touch passes with such ease it almost seemed like they were on the field by themselves.

"We came out there and we wanted to win," Whiteside said. "We wanted it bad."

Added Gaither: "We played outstanding tonight. Every player was on tonight and just performed from the very beginning."

Central set the tone early by controlling possession just as Doyle had hoped they would. Working the ball from the defensive half of the field, often through Young, Central's players were quick and decisive with their passing.

Doyle said he did not think his team could have played much better in the opening half, but challenged them to raise their game in the second half.

"I told them at halftime I wanted the first half to be our bad half," he said. "We played well in the second half."

Any thoughts of a comeback by Summit were dashed early in the second half. Bornstein used a couple of good individual moves to beat the charging Summit goalie to score just 3 minutes into the second half.

About 10 minutes later, Hester made it 4-0 by scoring on a breakaway. Hester received a long ball played out of the Central defensive end and just got the ball past Rockwood's keeper.

Central's lone breakdown came just minutes later, as Alex Johnston scored to make the score 4-1. Young made several diving saves the rest of the way to preserve the lead.

"They did some good stuff too," Doyle said of Summit. "Our defense really stepped up when we were in trouble."

Now the Tigers will turn their attention on making the team's second trip to the state final four. Central finished fourth in 2003.

"It doesn't get any easier," Doyle said. "I don't know who we're playing, it's either Vianney or Hazelwood Central. We're not out of the frying pan yet. We'll still be the underdogs, but we're fine with that."