West Chester Rustin blanks shorthanded Kennett
WESTTOWN – It is no secret that a string of season-ending injuries to four starters has hampered the Kennett boys’ soccer squad. On Thursday, in a Ches-Mont clash with playoff implications at West Chester Rustin, the Golden Knights had a list of must-dos, and checked them all.
Played in a persistent drizzle and on wet turf, Rustin was able to get the first half lead. Check. The defense avoided any major footing miscues, and prevented the Blue Demons from generating a single corner kick. Check. Check.
It all added up to a 1-0 victory for the Knights.
Now 5-2-2 in the Ches-Mont, Rustin moves into the top-half of the league standings. And at 7-4-1 overall, the Knights further solidify their positioning in the District 1 4A power rankings. They entered the day at 23rd, with the top 24 earning a berth at the conclusion of the regular season.
“This win was huge. We will probably move up to 20ish, so it’s good to have a little bit of wiggle room,” said senior forward Matty Scoffone, who notched the lone goal.
“This win was vital,” agreed Rustin head coach Ryan Castle. “Kennett was right behind us, so not only will we jump, we will distance ourselves from them. Plus almost all five of our games left are against teams that are either ahead of us or around us. We have some meaningful games.”
Kennett was 24th heading into Thursday and falls to 4-3-1, 7-5-1 overall.
“After this loss, (our postseason hopes are) questionable,” admitted head coach Mike Barr. “I just want to finish out this season and make sure everybody is healthy and we get a little better.”
Without injured starters Luke Nall; Lefty Tsaoussis, Cole Verrico and Ryan Barker, the Demons have been able to patch together a defense. But it’s taken a big toll on the attack.
“We lost (Nall), our top goal scorer early, and he would have made a huge difference,” Barr explained. “He was good for 30 goals. And recently we lost one of our best defenders in Cole (Verrico). It’s been really tough.
“We had high hopes for this season and it seems to be diminishing a little bit. We started three ninth graders, so I guess this is something you have to expect once in a while. But I am disappointed we lost.”
Kennett, however, had the only prime scoring chance in the early going when a Gavin Seele shot bounced off the near post. But the Knights ended the deadlock with 5:47 to go in the first half when Scoffone’s shot slipped off the hands of Kennett keeper Edwin Guerrero’s and redirected in. Teammate Josh Berkowitz was credited with the assist.
“I just hit it with my laces low and because it’s wet it just skipped, which is hard to make a save if you’re a goalie,” Scoffone said.
“We haven’t scored a goal in the first half in a lot of games, so it was good to get one.”
Castle added: “We knew (Kennett) had injuries and are really struggling up front. So we figured if we could get the first one it would be important.
“We also said to put shots on target. You never know what a slick ball is going to do. The keepers are going to be a little unsure or uncomfortable, so put them under a little pressure. That’s what Matty did.”
Kennett had a couple scoring chances in the second half, but Rustin goaltender Andrew DiStefano was there each time. He kick saved a blast from Edwin Bedoya early and got his knees to stop an uncontested shot by Seele late.
“It was huge to get that first goal. It allowed our defense to get settled,” DiStefano said.
“The conditions were tough,” Castle added. “We talked to our back line about being beware of the skips and making sure to strike through the clearances.”
It also helped that Rustin had a 9-0 edge in corner kicks.
“We want to win the restart battle, and one way to do that is to not give up any corners,” Castle said. “It’s something we’ve struggled with and in these conditions, we played it smart.”
DiStefano registered six of his eight goalie saves in the second half.
“Restarts can always be dangerous and our defense did a good job of getting everything out,” he said. “The defense didn’t make many mistakes today – everybody was clean and composed.”
West Chester Rustin 1, Kennett 0
Kennett 0 0 — 0
W.C. Rustin 1 0 — 1
Kennett goals: none.
W.C. Rustin goals: Scoffone.
Goalie saves: Guerrero (K) 9; DiStefano (R) 8.
