Titans open title defense with 2-1 win over Kilties

Nick Sczerbinski
Posted 11/4/14

The road to a repeat is never easy to manage, but despite entering the postseason as the No. 9 seed, the Toll Gate boys’ soccer team has taken the first step.

The Titans struck twice in the …

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Titans open title defense with 2-1 win over Kilties

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The road to a repeat is never easy to manage, but despite entering the postseason as the No. 9 seed, the Toll Gate boys’ soccer team has taken the first step.

The Titans struck twice in the opening 20 minutes and never looked back as they defeated the No. 8 seeded Mount Pleasant Kilties 2-1 on Wednesday night.

Toll Gate’s leading scorer Josh Sandin scored in the 15th minute of play when he cut into the middle of the field and ripped a shot into the top corner past Mount Pleasant goalkeeper Santos Alonzo.

Just four minutes later, the Titans caught Mount Pleasant off guard as the Kilties were anticipating an offside call that never came and Manny Pickering beat Alonzo for the second goal of the game.

“We played pretty much the same way in the first half as the second, but we don’t really expect to score twice so early,” said Toll Gate head coach Tim Hayes. “We usually struggle to get to two goals in a game, but we did it today.”

Mount Pleasant cut the lead in half in the 38th minute when team captain Jesus Hernandez crossed a ball that deflected in off of a Toll Gate defender for an own goal.

In the second half, the ball rarely crossed midfield, as the Kilties dominated possession and won nearly every 50/50 ball, a trend that didn’t go unnoticed by Hayes.

“We were lucky to get out of here with a win tonight,” Hayes said. “We weren’t able to get many balls through their midfield and they really pushed in the second half, but they missed some shots.”

Darlyn Zelaya Garcia controlled the play in the second half, mixing overpowering strength with some fancy footwork to earn multiple chances at an equalizer. Despite the wealth of opportunities he created, Garcia was unable to find the target, sending three shots high and wide in the second half.

“Their guy, (Garcia), was great, he won every second ball, he just got everything out there,” Hayes said. “But credit our centerbacks Kyle McGuire and Connor Haley. They stood up and made some plays for us going forward.”

Mount Pleasant’s Jose Grave had a late chance from 20 yards out in the 80th minute, but Toll Gate goalkeeper Kyle Brown made the stop, one of his nine in the contest.

Toll Gate has completed the first leg of a four-game journey to a second straight title and Hayes says that his team isn’t just another No. 9 seed.

“I think we underacheived a little bit during the season, some guys were hurt, some guys were adjusting to new roles, so it took a little bit to figure it out,” Hayes said. “I don’t think the nine is a true reflection of our talent.”

The Titans advanced to the Division II quarterfinals, where they were scheduled to take on Classical on Monday, with results unavailable at press time. With a win, Toll Gate would play in the semifinals on Thursday against Westerly.

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