CHC sweeps soccer doubleheader

by TOM UTESCHER

With their home soccer field still being refurbished following September storm damage, the men and women of Chestnut Hill College hosted important late-season games at Downingtown's United Sports Training Center last Saturday.

With a 3-1 win over Polytechnic University (formerly Brooklyn Polytech), the male Griffins earned a spot in the four-team postseason tournament in the North East Athletic Conference. The Chestnut Hill women had already claimed the second seed for the Atlantic Women's College Conference with Thursday's 2-0 win over Hood University, and on Saturday they cruised past Pittsburgh's Chatham College, 4-0, in an AWCC quarterfinal contest. The Griffins will host the AWCC Final Four Tournament at USTC this Saturday and Sunday.

Last Saturday the CHC men created numerous scoring chances but didn't cash in during the first half, which ended 0-0. More frustration ensued for the Griffs, as the Fighting Blue Jays actually took the lead. Polytechnic's Andrew Vaugjelidul brought the ball in along the left endline to set up the score in front by Andres Zapata.

Many promising shots by CHC's Greg Webb and Boyd McCorkle had gone unfulfilled, but Webb finally got the Griffins on the board with 28 minutes gone, carrying the ball in from the left wing for an unassisted strike. The go-ahead goal followed less than five minutes later, when Mike Koch scored from in front of the cage off of a cross from the right by Joe Grinkewicz. Webb tacked on the third goal in added time, sliding down in the mud in the right side of the box but managing to sling his leg around for a successful shot.

George Binaco made six saves in goal for the Griffin men, who in their first year as an intercollegiate team posted a 7-9-1 record in regular-season play.

In the second bout on Saturday's twin bill, the Chestnut Hill ladies duplicated their 4-1 regular-season win over the Chatham Cougars, who were seeded seventh for the AWCC tournament. The Cougars hung up their cleats for the year with a 1-11-2 overall record, while the locals improved to 7-9 (7-1 in conference) and moved on to the semifinal round.

Just three minutes and nine seconds into the tilt, Meghan Smith assisted Rebecca Howell on the goal that eventually became the gamewinner. Subsequent shots by Smith and by Bridget McAneny didn't find the net, then with 16 minutes to go in the first half CHC deposited its first insurance goal, with Morgan Nichols centering the ball on a corner kick from the right side to set up a header in front by Lucia Merino.

Early in the second half Nichols banged a shot off the left post of the Cougars' cage, and just a minute later she took the ball back inside on the left and fired the Griffins' third goal with 8:30 elapsed in the period. Three minutes later, Smith scored from the right side of the box to put the final score on the board. In goal for CHC, Kelly Evans played the first half and Krista DeFlaviis the second, each making two saves to share the shutout.