A soccer ball lies on the pitch.
Troy Athens soccer players are starting to feel like penalty kicks are their thing. A day after winning a contested regional final in a shoot-out, the Red Hawks did it again Wednesday, defeating Rochester in a Division 1 state semifinal at Troy.
Athens (19-4-2) scored on all five of their attempts, getting goals from Andy Filips, Yusuf Uzhunnan, Cole Valentine, Anish Saraswat and Shamik Patel. Goalkeeper Mason Maziasz stopped one of Rochester’s four attempts.
Patel clinched it by going glove-high into the center of the net after coaxing the Falcons’ keeper out of position.
“I don’t care who shoots the winning ball as long as we score,” said Patel, the team’s co-captain along with Maziasz. “I looked left, and I saw him already cheating so I just put it down the middle at the last second.”
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Athens has been practicing penalty kicks intensely for the past three weeks. They seemingly won Thursday’s regional over Macomb Dakota in a shootout, but the officials misapplied a rule when they negated a Dakota goal, and the two teams had to finish the deal Tuesday. Athens prevailed in the final rounds, and kept the regional trophy they thought they had won earlier.
And when the second overtime ended Wednesday, the Red Hawks were ready.
“I looked at their faces in the huddle and it was like ‘Here we go again’ — they were great,” Athens coach Todd Heugh said. “I told the guys, ‘Go for it. Hit it. I love you and you’ve played a great game.’ ”
The win propels the Red Hawks into Saturday’s state championship against East Kentwood, a winner over Novi.
Heugh was proud of the way his players “didn’t fold” after Rochester got on the board first. In the 17th minute, captain Demetri Pliakos got a clear shot from the right hash mark 20 yards away and rifled it inside the left post.
Athens got the equalizer in the 59th minute. Saraswat led a charge up the left side and sent a cross pass into the crowd in front of the net. Uzhunnan got off a point-blank shot which was blocked, but the rebound caromed out to Andrew Nord 20 yards away. Nord planted a shot under the crossbar.
Nord’s goal energized the Red Hawks, who had several opportunities to win it outright in regulation. They came closest on their final rush. On a throw-in, Kyle Kohl sent the fall in front of the net, Cole Valentine couldn’t convert a bicycle kick attempt and Saraswat hit the post, which left the game 1-1 after 80 minutes. Two scoreless overtimes set the table for the shoot-out.
Volleyball
Farmington Hills Mercy 3, West Bloomfield 0: In the district semifinal loss, West Bloomfield was led by Lauren King, who had six kills, while Nyla Greer had five kills and Agata Stanko had four of her own.
Novi 3, Plymouth 0: Kathryn Ellison had 15 kills and 11 digs, while Erin O’Leary had eight kills and 30 assists for Novi. Claire Pinkerton finished with three aces and eight digs.
Watervliet 3, Brandywine 2: Watervliet advanced to the district championship match against Bridgman. Mercede Daugherty recorded 23 assists and 12 digs, while Zoe Smith finished with five kills and 15 digs for Watervliet. Kara Liles compiled eight kills and eight blocks.
Wixom St. Catherine of Siena 3, Taylor Prep 0: Senior Rachel Leeman led St. Catherine with nine digs, while Maryann Alexander finished with eight digs. Catherine of Siena will play Whitmore Lake in the district finals.
Free Press staff reports contributed.