Ireton tops Ryken 2-1

On a raw, 45-degree day with rain mistiing throughout, St Mary Ryken’s boys (6-9-2, 5-7-2)made their second trip to Alexandria this season and again left one goal short in a hard fought 2-1 contest. Both schools agreed that playing a second time on Ireton’s turf field to be a better option than playing on a soaked natural grass field in Leonardtown and postponing the game into the final week of the season was even less appealing.

The teams battled through a scoreless first half though Ireton (4-12-2, 2-12-2) controlled the game early with a big advantage on shots on goal and four corner kicks in the opening period. Senior Evan Guidry, who played one of his best games of the season, set the tone early for the Cardinals dribbling through a pair of defenders before being stopped literally on the goal line just 5 minutes into the game. Ryken got their chances, including Adam Miller’s header off the crossbar on a Knight corner kick.

SMR stormed out of the gate as the second half started but several scoring chances were missed with a wide open net beckoning. Shots wide, blocked by Cardinals, and sensational saves by Arthur Deegan and Frankie Massa, who shared net minding duties, kept Ryken off the scoreboard in the first half. Deegan came up huge for Ireton on a point blank blast by SMR junior Benjamin Allston only 8 minutes into the second half and Massa denied sophomore Christopher Lawrence as the Knights looked to take the lead in the second half.

With 14:30 remaining in the contest, Ireton broke the scoring drought when junior Cameron Foster sent a picture perfect crossing pass to freshman Elliot Fantino who headed the ball into the corner of the net for a 1-0 Cardinal lead. The Knights were energized by the goal, however, and just two minutes later Ryken’s Lawrence pounced on a loose ball pinballing through the goalkeeper’s box and drilled it to tie the contest, 1-1.

Ryken gained momentum from the score, but the Cardinals counterattacked with junior Dan O’Keefe unloading a big shot beyond 30 yards right on goal. It was blocked by the Knight’s keeper, but only straight into the air and knocking the goalie back into his net. Evan Guidry was right there for Ireton and calmly headed the ball into a wide open goal for the game winner with 7:56 remaining.