By BRIAN CUNNIFF
CapeAtlanticLive.com
STONE HARBOR – The Wildwood Catholic Academy boys soccer team took another step toward a conference title Thursday afternoon.
Facing an undermanned but determined Lower Cape May side, the Crusaders finally sliced open a close game with a pair of goals in the final 15 minutes to score a 3-0 victory to remain unbeaten in Cape-Atlantic United Conference games.
Wildwood Catholic improved to 8-1 overall, 7-0 in CAL United games, while Lower Cape May fell to 0-6-1, 0-4-1.
Calvin Kiker opened the scoring early in the first half, easily slotting home after Chase Critchfield’s cross fell to his feet with the goal open after Lower goalkeeper Ryan Gibson and Wildwood Catholic’s Chase Adams crashed to the turf following a collision as each attempted to play the ball.
Lower Cape May slowly grew into the game from there, however, and finished the half with some momentum after enjoying its longest spells of possession in Wildwood Catholic’s final third over the final seven minutes of the opening 40 minutes. The Tigers nearly equalized when Crusader goalkeeper Keynan Alston spilled the rebound of a long free kick by Lower’s Gavin Ridgway, but Alston scrambled to recover and made a wonderful diving save of the follow-up shot. Lower later earned another free kick opportunity from 25 yards but time expired before the Tigers could organize and send the ball toward goal.
Wildwood Catholic recovered from that pressure to control most of the possession in the second half. Kiker nearly had his second early on in the half but his leaping header from the middle of the penalty area narrowly missed the crossbar.
Wildwood Catholic finally put some distance between the two sides when Teddy Woolery scored the first of his two goals. The senior blasted home from the right side of the area after Charlie Flickinger nicked Kiker’s clever cross past a Lower Cape May defender and into Woolery’s path.
Woolery finished the scoring late when he easily knocked in the rebound following a brilliant diving save by Lower’s Gibson off Chris Papageorgiou’s shot. Papageorgiou set up the play by winning the ball at his center back position with a slide tackle near midfield and executing a give-and-go with Flickinger to drive the ball into the penalty area.
The game was much more competitive than when the teams met earlier this month. Wildwood Catholic was a 7-0 winner on Sept. 4 in both teams’ season opener.
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