Round 14: North 3 - O'Hara 0

Recap and Standings:

North ended its regular season with a 3-0 victory over Cardinal O'Hara last Friday at Ryan. The victory gave the Falcons a league record of 10 wins, 1 loss and 3 ties good enough for second place in the very competitive PCL Red Division. Three teams currently reside in the Philadelphia Inquirer's Top 10. Judge is 5, North is 6 and Prep is 10. This is the final, regular season game for seniors: Pat Greer, Joe Nean,Carl Essenthier, Mike Gredzik, Mark Pugliese, Jim Griffen and Nick Stangler. The playoffs begin on Tuesday, October 21 with North taking on Archbishop Ryan. This quarterfinal game is scheduled for 6 PM at Lighthouse Field located at Southampton and the Boulevard.

The Game

In the first half, senior, Joe Nean scored his third goal of the season to open the scoring in the first half. Joe was able to deflect a crossing ball early in the match to make the score 1-0. North dominated possession but O'Hara countered on every opportunity.

The second half saw North continue to dominate possession that ended in opportunities. In one three minute stretch, senior Carl Essenthier created 5 shots for himself that tested the O'Hara keeper. Finally, with about 7 minutes remaining, junior midfielder, Juan Pablo Martinez took control of a loose ball just outside the 18, pushed the ball to his right and blistered a shot past the O'Hara keeper to increase the lead to 2-0. In the final minutes, North substituted freely and about 3 minutes from time, sophmore Andrew Schwab was able to keep a ball active in the box that found the foot of junior Dan Micucci. Danny faced the goal and slid the ball past the O'Hara keeper to increase the lead to 3-0.

Junior keeper, John McCarthy kept a clean sheet by stopping 5 shots from O'Hara, the most dangerous coming of a semi-breakaway in the second half with North up only by a goal. This is John's sixth shutout of the regular season.

Faces In The Crowd

Even with North having wrapped up second place last week, this game still brought out the regulars to include the elite "SuperFans." Mr. Ed White was in attendance again and spent a great deal of time making sure he had the playoff date and time correct. My eyes deceived me because I thought I saw another SuperFan in Tim Murphy but to naught. I thought maybe Timmy was at a JV football practice but he set me straight on Saturday night. Timmy believed that our game would be a no-brainer and wanted to rest himself for the next nights football game. Mr Leo Filewicz was in attendance as well to root for his Falcons. Teddy Maciocha, former North player and coach was seen with a little baby in his arms as he took in the game.