Gators top Carlynton in shootout
UPPER ST. CLAIR — Geibel Catholic battled against fourth-seeded Carlynton in the first round of the WPIAL Class A boys playoffs on Monday night and came away with a hard-fought, 2-1, victory in a shootout.
The 13th-seeded Gators (14-5) won the shootout, 5-3, with goalkeeper Kyle Toth’s goal clinching the win.
It was a tough game, with the first half ending in a 0-0 tie. Geibel took the lead early in the second half due to an unlucky self-goal by Carlynton (12-5). The Gators’ Bailey McIntyre was awarded the goal.
Both goalkeepers played strong. Geibel faced back-to-back penalty shots against the Cougars inside the box. Toth made an incredible save on the first penalty shot. The second shot was high over the goal.
Carylnton head coach Charlie Peiffer told his team at half time “to fight, we knew the game was going to be close. I just tried to instill some confidence in them.”
Neither team could finish a goal, yet both teams were able to take a high amount of shots. It wasn’t until late in the second half that Carlynton came back to tie the game at 1-1. Ted Ford took a penalty kick just outside of the 30-yard mark. He played a nice ball into the box which allowed a deflection into the back of the net.
The game went into double overtime, still leaving the teams in a 1-1 tie to set up a shootout for which each team picked five players. The Gators scored on their first four shots, Carlynton only missing one.
It all came down to Geibel’s last shooter, Toth, who came up huge, scoring the game-winning goal.
“I can’t believe it,” Toth said. “It’s our first win in playoffs. I just can’t believe that happened.”
Peiffer was disappointed in the outcome but still like how hard his team fought. “We were just unlucky today,” he said.
Toth was feeling down at first, especially when Carlynton scored their first goal. “But we came back strong and we held our own. And we won,” he said. “For our next game we just have to keep practicing, keep our momentum going from this game.”
Geibel head coach Mike Grant was also pleased with how his team played.
“At half I told them to keep doing what they were doing, everything was working well,” he said.
When it came down to the last minute before penalty shots Grant told his team, “We are going to win the PKs, we just need to keep the ball away from our net.” He was extremely please with four of his players: Toth, James Ewing, McIntyre, and Matt Mammarella. “These four players really held the team together throughout the entire game,” he said.