Sophomore Joey Faddoul (left) with head coach, Jon Norem.
Bishop Ireton’s boys soccer team posted back-to-back 2-1 wins last week, improving to 2-1 on the season. The team needed to catch up in both contests, spotting the Bullis Bulldogs a 1-0 first half advantage on Witter Field Tuesday before a two goal final period captured the win. Again, on a slow, natural grass pitch in Dumfries, Virginia, the Ireton lads were forced to come back from a 1-0 deficit. In both games, junior Nick Ducceschi scored the gamewinning goal.
After a slow first half where Bullis controlled the play for much of the period, head coach Jon Norem made a series of personnel and tactical changes confident they could solve the Bulldogs. That confidence was rewarded in the second half when Joe Ready bent a direct, free position kick just beyond the outstretched fingers of the Bulldog goalie and deep in the back corner of the net from beyond 20 yards to tie the game at 1-1.
As the teams battled in a physical contest, the Cardinals changes turned the momentum, increasingly controlling the play and the pace of the game. Preston Haugh, Austin Smith, and Shanin Bakhshi-Azar stymied the Bullis attack and eliminated scoring opportunities. Keeper Andrew Perham deftly handled those few opportunities that he faced, the Cardinal defense, led by Spencer Amarantides and the Ireton midfield who transitioned the ball repeatedly deep into Bullis territory.
Near the midway point, Ducceshi worked himself through the defense and drove a hard shot past the sprawling tender for the game winner. From there the smothering Cardinals gave Bullis very little opportunity in the offensive zone and controlled the midfield enroute to the win.
A Friday trip to John Paul the Great is normally a traffic challenge but the soft natural grass field seemed to dwarf the noramally difficult commute south on a Friday afternoon. The Wolves struck first, early in the game, taking a 1-0 lead. A foul by the home team goalkeeper gave sophomore Joey Faddoul an opportunity on a penalty kick and the reliable forward didn’t disappoint to tie the contest at 1-1. The teams headed into the second period, setting up the second straight game for Ducceshi heroics. Once again, the junior tallied the game winner for the Cardinals midway through the second half.
Bishop Ireton returns to action Tuesday at Archbishop Carroll at 4pm on Maus Collins Field for the WCAC season opener. It will be a varsity only contest.
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