Maumee shades Elida

11/2/2005

FINDLAY With players drained both physically and mentally, it took Maumee extra time to take care of Elida in the Division II regional semifinals at Findlay High School last night.

Maumee (17-2-1) won the contest 2-1 in the second shootout to advance to the regional finals, where the Panthers will take on Bay Village (15-2-2) on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Lexington High School.

Bay Village knocked off Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary 1-0.

The game was dominated by Maumee, which outshot Elida 21-10, but Elida goalkeeper Tyler Ladd posted 17 saves and allowed just one goal.

Maumee s Pete Richard, who scored a goal in regulation, was the hero with the game-winning goal in the second shootout.

But before Richard s goal, it took a pressure-packed save from Panther goalkeeper Chad Graven.

I can t even put it into words. I am just so happy for my guys, Graven said. Our defense played great and this game was played with heart. There were two great teams out there.

Richard got Maumee on the scoreboard first as he knocked in a goal on an assist from Joe Albright with 22:51 left in the first half.

It was a long throw from Alan Bower to Albright, Richard said. He flicked it and then it went right to my foot and I just put it in. It was perfect.

Elida (16-3-1) bounced back less than a minute later, as Matt Stump scored on a long arching shot outside the goal box with 21:26 to go in the half.

Both teams had their chances to pull out the win in the second half, but both goalkeepers buckled down.

Maumee forward Cody Powell had four shots on goal in the final 10 minutes, but Ladd made some miraculous saves to keep the game going.

Elida s Landon Pheneger, Jeremy Hardy and Stump each had a shot on goal in the second half.

Neither team had a shot on goal in the first overtime and there was just one shot taken by Albright in the second OT.

In the first shootout, Elida s Shane Ramsey missed the first shot off the goal post and Albright answered with a goal.

Stump came up next with a goal, before R.J. Davidson missed for the Panthers.

Jacob Graham, Justin Basinger and Jeremy Hardy posted shootout goals for the Bulldogs, while Patrick James, Powell and Jake Revill answered for Maumee to send the game into the second shootout.

The first up was Sam Musto for Elida, but he was stuffed by Graven, which set up the winning goal for Richard.

When he set up the ball, I looked in his eyes and saw him look to the other direction and I saw his foot didn t have enough angle to kick it to the other post so I knew which way he was kicking it, Graven said.

It s the greatest feeling in the world. It s like going to a buffet when you are starving and getting that food on your plate.

We knew coming in that somebody had to step up, Maumee coach Joel Calkins said.

We didn t know who it would be and today it ended up being Peter Richard.

The shootout especially made Calkins nervous on the sidelines.

I have a ritual where I don t watch shootouts, so I turned my back, looked at the American flag and said my prayers, Calkins said.

Contact Adam Thompson at:athompson@theblade.com