St. John's Jesuit junior Ryan Peterson scored twice, including a rocket shot from 20 yards out that curled into the corner of the net for the game winner against Anthony Wayne in a Division I regional semifinal match last night.
Peterson's beautiful bullet shot came with 23:39 left and gave the Titans a 3-2 win over the Generals at Central Catholic. It also propelled St. John's (14-7-0) into the regional final on Saturday.
"This one means more than anything," Peterson said. "It means we're the best in northwest Ohio. It also gets us back for a regular season loss to them. It was a team effort. I just got the goals. It's an awesome feeling."St. John's - Anthony Wayne boys soccer
Using its speed, St. John's created a high tempo and looked to have total control but led just 1-0 at the half. The Titans earned 14 corner kick chances before AW had its first.
After junior Brad Vahalik gave St. John's a 1-0 lead, Peterson scored the second goal of the night off of a nice pass on a header from Adam Montague. Peterson knocked the ball by AW goalie Ryan Scheanwald, who had come out to try to get to the ball. Peterson's goal made it 2-0 at the 35:03 mark.Anthony Wayne made it interesting again when Ben Barrett scored on a header a little less than six minutes later. The Generals picked up their pace and were awarded their first corner kick of the game with 31:28 to go. AW evened the contest at 2 when Aaron Russo split two defenders with a great pass to Troy Thompson, whose one touch shot beat Titan keeper Chip Searles.
But St. John's coach Dan Weisenburger said Peterson picked the team up in characteristic style a little more than two minutes later with a laser shot.
"That is typical for Ryan. He has had the opportunity to pro-pel us as a team and he comes through," Weisenburger said. "It's always good to beat a local rival. Anthony Wayne is a very strong team."
The Titans (14-7-0) advance to play the winner of the Strongsville-North Olmsted semifinal on Saturday at Bay High School at 3 p.m.
"I was just feeling that shot and no one was pressuring me," Peterson said.
Anthony Wayne (12-5-3) whipped Ashland 7-1 in the district final after beating Northern Lakes League champion Perrysburg 2-1 in the district semifinal. The Generals also defeated St. John's 4-1 on Sept. 3.
"I'm so proud of our kids," AW coach Francis Stephens said. "They've been terrific all season. St. John's was just better tonight. They played terrific. We lost eight starters from the team that reached the state semifinals last year and a lot of people didn't think we would be here. But from day one I thought we had the talent."
In a physical game, seven yellow cards were handed out.
Vahalik was credited with the first goal when the ball deflected off of an AW defender and found the back of the net on a corner kick. At the half, the Titans had 10 quality opportunities with corner kicks while the Generals did not have any. And St. John's had a 4-1 advantage in shots yet maintained just a 1-0 lead. Anthony Wayne countered with two goals in a span of 3:14.
"They caught us when we were on our heals for about five minutes," Weisenburger said.
Searles, who missed most of the season, made two crucial stops late in the game. Thompson just missed tying it with 11 minutes left, but his free kick sailed just over the net. Scheanwald also made quality saves throughout.
"They beat us up earlier," Weisenburger said. "So the guys are excited to get their revenge."
Contact Mark Monroe at:
mmonroe@theblade.com
or 419-724-6354.
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