Overtime leads to short stay

Thursday, November 12th, 2009
Article by: Keith Pearson

Norwood’s Dan Cubelli (left) fights for the ball with Pembroke’s Cullan Fitzgerald in Saturday’s Div. 2 South matchup.
Sean Browne/Wicked Local Correspondent


Goals figured to be at a premium in the first-ever tournament game for the Norwood High boys soccer program, a preliminary round matchup with Pembroke in the Division 2 South tournament Saturday.

Between the two teams, in 40 games they combined to score just 39 goals – 20 for the 15th-seeded Titans and 19 for the 18th-seeded Mustangs.

Pembroke, which finished tied for second place in the Patriot League’s Fisher Division and had a regular season record of 7-8-5 (7-6-5 for seeding purposes as it excluded two games against Brockton), came is as an ultra defensive team that attempts to spring a forward into open space with long clearances.

After being kept off the board in the opening 80 minutes by Mustangs sophomore goalkeeper Andrew Stover, who stopped a penalty kick in just his third career start, Tim Cullity delivered the winner with a well-placed shot with about two minutes remaining in the first 10-minute overtime for the lone goal of the contest, a 1-0 Titan victory.

Alex Lembo was whistled for a handball in the box in the second half, in an effort to protect his face from being hit. Stover stopped the penalty that was hit low, but straight down the middle and the rebound was sent wide.

The game winner came off an indirect kick from about 45 yards out that was played to the far post, headed into the mixer at the top of the box and deflected to Cullity, who hammered the game-winner into the top right corner from about 23 yards.

“It was a great play by the kid from Pembroke,” said Mustangs coach Brian Meringer. “It wasn’t a breakdown … the ball bounced off the back of one of their players or the shoulder of one of ours, it was a contested ball. It bounced up, he picked up the loose ball and from about 23 yards, top right-hand corner on a rope.”

For more on this close match up go to: http://www.wickedlocal.com/norwood/sports/high_school/x2087395134/Overtime-leads-to-short-stay