A Ride To Remember But Crisfield Comes Up Short In Title
The Crisfield boys soccer teams incredible 2015 season won’t be remembered for the final score of their championship game on Saturday. It will be remembered with how the group of young men captivated their entire town, and took the program somewhere it hadn’t been in nearly 40 years, shown by the huge crowd of fans that made the trip over to Baltimore to support their team.
The Crabbers took on power house North Carroll in the 1A State Championship game at Loyola University on Saturday, coming up just short 3-1 in a game that was closer than the final score might suggest. The Crabbers finished off one of the best seasons in program history as runner ups in the 1A.
The Panthers would come out in the first half and control the midfield, generating several scoring opportunities. But while they were able to get shots on goal, the back line of the defense for Crisfield would do their job led by goalkeeper Charlie Elliott. The senior finished with 7 saves in the first half alone, as the Crabbers struggled to find their footing in the early going. At the midway point of the first half, North Carroll would finally break through after a through ball into the box found a Austin Cooper, and he would put it home for the score. Crisfield would go into the break down 1-0, but begin to settle in in the second half. The Crabbers started winning the mid field as Bruce Emely and Dallas Dowden would start the offense, and get the ball to their forwards for opportunities. At first the Crabbers weren’t able to finish off their attacks with a good shot, but their aggression paid off with several free kicks from right outside the box. On one set play, Emely played a ball perfectly to Johnny Taylor, but his shot would go just wide of the near post. Time began to play against the Crabbers and then with 15 minutes left in the game, they would get called for a penalty in the box, awarding the Panthers with a penalty kick. Cameron Ament would put it home as it looked like the game might be over at 2-0. The Crabbers weren’t done just yet though.
Off a free kick from right outside the box, Emely would send a absolute strike to the far post, and put it in to get his team back within 1. North Carroll wasn’t going to let their lead slip away though as they would respond with a score shortly after, and put the game away.
