Astrino doesn’t miss his second chance as Springfield advances

SPRINGFIELD >> As the clock ticked under three minutes in regulation, Nick Jannelli offered Andrew Astrino a little pat on the back.

One midfielder to another, the message was to go get the next one after Astrino’s shot from inside the six-yard box rocketed off the post.

When a chance materialized in overtime, Astrino left no doubt.

The senior midfielder spun a defender near the end line before blasting a shot home 7:34 into the first overtime session as No. 3 seed Springfield claimed a 2-1 win over No. 19 Central Bucks West in the second round of the District One Class AAA Tournament.

No one had to convince Jannelli of what Astrino was feeling as the whistle sounded for full time. The Cougars (14-3-2) heaped on pressure in the second half, and some faulty finishing and the dogged goalkeeping of Bucks stud freshman Dylan Smith were all that separated them from cashing in.

Smith’s ninth save of regulation came 15 minutes from time when he rushed off his line and dove to snuff Jannelli one-on-one, after a Mitch Masi pass slipped him in.

The All-Delco midfielder clutched his head in his hands, a gesture Astrino mimicked three minutes later when he skied an open header with plenty of net to aim at … or with three minutes to play when in the chaotic aftermath of a corner kick, the ball emerged from a jumble of bodies and found Astrino all by his lonesome for a clean rocket off the post that bounded out.

“I missed a breakaway, too, and the whole team was just like, ‘it’s OK. Go get the next one,’” Jannelli said. “So I did the same thing for (Astrino), to keep his head up. We were dominating the game, so I knew we would get one eventually.”

“(Assistant coach Rich) Duffey he made sure he came up to me at the end of the second half and made sure he said something going into overtime,” Astrino said. “My captains, too, they all knew what they had to do.”

Jannelli’s assist on the winner was more than just inspirational, even if it was tinged with controversy. An injured C.B. West player limped off, halting play with Springfield in possession. On the restart, an indirect kick, the Bucks backed off of Ryan Straube, who fired a long ball into the box that Jannelli nodded on to Astrino on the far post. He took a couple of touches, got a glimmer of space and fired a shot low across Smith’s bow that the acrobatic keeper couldn’t stoop to deny.

“Definitely I put my head down,” Astrino said. “But I have to thank my coaches a lot, my teammates a lot. They picked my head back up and told me the next one was mine, and turned out it was.”

The Cougars, who advance to play No. 6 seed Pennsbury Saturday at Halderman Field for a shot at the PIAA Tournament, parlayed a strong second half into the overtime initiative, literally from the first kick. Jannelli danced through defenders, found Masi in space down the wing, and though Masi’s effort 13 seconds in merely located the side netting, it set the tone for a back-and-forth slugfest session destined to end quickly.

“Off the tap, when we see we can get it through, it gives us confidence to keep going,” Jannelli said. “I went through three guys, slide it through and we get in on goal. After that, we knew we could keep pressing, keep pressing and eventually we got them.”

“We know both teams had their share of opportunities,” C.B. West defender Joey Recupero said. “It’s a tidal wave of emotions with both teams attacking. The way it ended, we’re not too pleased by that, but with what we’ve accomplished over the season, I’m very proud to say that this is my senior season.”

Mike Gerzabek made two of his six saves in OT, including a stunning denial of an August Meyer volley against the grain that was ticketed far corner. Springfield had a penalty shot waved away, and Jannelli curled one toward the far post that Smith plucked out of the air before a dangerous follow by Jannelli was blocked in a hectic scene.

On balance, the Cougars were the better side, striking first in the 46th minute off a more direct set piece. Jannelli flicked Masi’s corner-kick delivery into the path of Maxx Drumm. As the C.B. West defense gravitated toward the ball, Drumm nudged it over Smith without much company at the back post.

Goal Springfield! Maxx Drumm heads home Nick Jannelli’s flick of a Mitch Masi corner. 1-0 in 46th https://t.co/BOkAHBxFWE

— Matthew De George (@sportsdoctormd) October 29, 2015

The response from C.B. West was swift. Springfield cleared a corner in the 50th minute, but defender Brady Boylan capitalized on the advancing Cougars defense with a clinical ball to Recupero, who victimized an overzealous Gerzabek, poking one past the prone goalkeeper off his line.

“It’s always important,” Recupero said of the rapid riposte. “We’re a scrappy team. We’ve played a lot of very good teams through the year and we’ve gone to overtime several times. It’s all about getting knocked down and getting back up.”

The Bucks (14-6) created plenty of chances, many off set pieces and the long throws of forward Brandon Morris, which they used to tip No. 14 Marple Newtown Tuesday. Smith kept them in contact by frustrating the Cougars time and again.

Ultimately though, the more dangerous — and resilient — team survived.

“I feel like we had the heart and wanted to put them away,” Astrino said, “and we did.”