Warriors roll into 2A quarterfinals
By Dean Dellamalva Jr.
MVI Sports
The fifth-seeded Elizabeth Forward boys soccer team got going early in their WPIAL Class 2A first-round game against No. 12 Freedom Monday, scoring in the second minute.
The Warriors took the momentum they created and never looked back, capturing a 7-2 victory at Warrior Stadium.
With the win, EF advances to the WPIAL quarterfinals for the first time since 2010.
Rob Hrabosky tallied three goals, netting two in the first half, and an assist to lead the way for Elizabeth Forward (11-2-2).
“We’ve been a playoff contender for the last four years and to break through, it feels good,” EF head coach Doug Finke said. “We’ve been trying to build this program up for the six years I have been here. It came to this moment.
“We have a great group of seniors and juniors. They are really putting it together.”
Gino Penascino attempted a cross from about 30 yards out on the right sideline that found the open far top corner of the goal for the first goal of the night. Only 71 seconds had elapsed in the game before the first tally.
“We said we wanted to set the tone in the first five minutes, to get one and put them on their heels,” Finke said. “It wasn’t really a shot, it was a cross. But we’ll take it anyway it can go in. It was a shock to (Freedom) and probably knocked the wind out of them. It was huge.”
Hrabosky’s first goal came after a nice run down the sideline by Ethan Bowser. He served the ball across the box to Hrabosky who put it in for a 2-0 lead in the 15th minute.
It became 3-0 when Max Salankiewicz forced Bulldogs goalkeeper Trent Heasley to attempt a clear. It came right to Hrabosky who delivered a shot into a wide open net for his second goal of the game.
Freedom responded with a goal on a header from Dylan Scheel 57 seconds later; however, 53 seconds elapsed before EF answered. This time it was Hrabosky finding Salankiewicz, who made it 4-1 Warriors.
“Coming in, we knew we had a pace advantage and Robby is one of the fastest kids I know,” Finke said. “We knew if we got him into space, he was going to be really hard for them to stop. It showed today. He has picked up his play this year and today, it was something that we needed.”
To read the rest of the story, please see a copy of Tuesday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at http://monvalleyindependent.com.
