TRUE BLUE: Salem wins P-CEP soccer title in dramatic fashion
Salem players come together for a team photo after winning the Park championship.
The difference in Tuesday night’s Plymouth-vs.-Salem boys soccer match ultimately came down to two penalty kicks: one that was stopped by Rock keeper Peter Demetter; the other that was stopped by the back of the net behind Plymouth keeper Evan Gaylord.
To Gaylord’s credit, his task of knocking away Salem captain Tyler Veresh’s scorching PK with 2 minutes and 15 seconds remaining in a scoreless draw was close to impossible as Veresh put the ball in the lower-right corner of the net — a spot only Spiderman could have stopped (maybe).
Demetter, on the other hand, used his instincts and a lot of PK practice on his diving stop of the Wildcats’ opportunity to score mid-way through the first half.
Park champs
Salem’s 1-0 victory clinched its first P-CEP boys soccer title in at least the past four years. The Rocks defeated Canton earlier this month, 2-1, to ignite the Park sweep.
“Peter played very well in both Park games,” raved Salem Head Coach Kyle Karns. “We work a lot on PKs in practice and Peter has an exceptional rate of stopping them, so I had full confidence he’d come through in that moment.
“Peter got us settled in a little bit tonight with another (point-blank) save. Overall, it wasn’t our best night, but my message to the guys after the game was that sometimes you can win ugly when you don’t play your best.”
When asked about his confidence level in Veresh’s ability to all but close out the win with his PK with just over 2 minutes to play, Karns smiled.
‘Ty’s our guy’
“Ty’s our guy,” Karns said. “He’s great in those moments. It’s tough, too, because these guys from both teams know each other so well from the rivalry games and some of them play club soccer together, so they practice PKs against one another.”
Demetter said his knack for turning away penalty kicks starts with his pre-kick routine.
“I try to play mind games with kicker; I’ll wave my arms and bounce around,” he said. “Once I get committed, I don’t change.”
The entire match featured two defenses that weren’t giving an inch once the ball cracked the 30-yard mark.
Beard keeps the match scoreless
Veresh nearly broke the scoreless draw early in the second half when his bending rainbow kick from just inside the end line — and Gaylord away from the goal crease to pursue a loose ball — was headed into the twine until a heads-up play by Plymouth’s Keegan Beard (who headed the ball off the goal line) kept the goose eggs on the scoreboard.
Salem’s Eli Garwood headed a first-half corner kick off the cross-bar before Plymouth defenders managed to clear the ball out of harm’s way.
While Karns said he cherishes the Park title, there are bigger fish to fry this season, he noted.
“Winning the Park trophy means a lot,” he said, “but we’d rather have the wooden trophies they give out at the end of the season.”
Ed Wright can be reached at 734-664-4657 or edwright@socialhousenews.com.
