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Speedy Warriors advance to final

EVERETT — It didn’t take Everett long to use its speed to its advantage in the Warriors match against Chestnut Ridge.

Second-seeded Everett found the back of the net less than five minutes into the District 5 Class 2A semifinal, and tacked on an insurance goal later in the opening half in a 2-0 victory over the Lions at Everett Warrior Stadium.

It was clear early on that the Warriors were looking to utilize the speed of Xander Brown and Mason Cessna down the right wing, and at the 35:39 mark of the first half, Cessna set-up the eventual game-winning goal.

“He (Cessna) just hit that ball so nice, and I’m just so glad we were following and guys were making runs to the goal,” Everett coach Brad Zembower said. “We tried telling them to make runs to the back post, front post and middle of the goal. There were just there to cap it off — great play.”

Everett teammate Brady Foor fed Cessna towards the right corner as the senior out-ran the Ridge defense to claim the ball. Cessna then crossed it near the back of the goal where Spencer Weaver had timed his run perfectly to be able to one-time the ball into the back of the net for a 1-0 Everett lead.

“My hats go out to those guys (Everett). I mean, holy smokes — they’re tough and they’re fast,” Chestnut Ridge coach Dave Van Meter said. “We fought — these kids are fighters. We’ve played hard all year … I’m very proud of them.”

The Warriors, who ripped off 16 shots in the first 40 minutes, got a second goal when the Lions’ Masen Osman was called for a dangerous play on a high kick in the box — the result was an indirect kick from about 15 yards away.

With eight Chestnut Ridge players, including goalkeeper Ben Smith, standing guard in the mouth of the goal, Brown touched the ball just enough to set up Foor, who snuck the ball above several Lions and into the top right corner of the goal to set the final.

“Brady just blasted it,” Zembower said. “I thought, just don’t make the tap too big, and he (Brown) didn’t and Brady just hammered that ball. I figured, unless you’re standing right in front of it taking it in the face, you’re not going to get that.”

Play was stopped with 32:21 left in the contest, and the officials called Foor over and wanted to check his shin guards. After it was deemed that Foor was wearing illegal shin guards (too small for player safety), Zembower was given a yellow card. Foor was able to switch out with a sub on the bench and resume playing immediately.

Third-seeded Ridge changed up its formation in the second half, which helped take away the speed of the Warriors into the corner, but the Lions attackers found shots hard to come by as they only managed to get off three after the half.

Everett had several great scoring chances throughout, and the final one came in the last minute of play as Cessna’s shot hit off the right post.

For the match, the Warriors owned a 28-9 edge in shots taken, while Murphy earned the shutout with five saves.

“First half, we played really, really well. We were really sharp,” Zembower said. “The second half, we really kind of, it’s like we stepped off the gas pedal. We still created a lot of quality chances, we just couldn’t get the ball in the net.”

The Warriors will meet up with top-seeded Somerset next Thursday night at Windber for the championship.

SCORE BY HALVES

Chestnut Ridge 0 0 — 0

Everett 2 0 — 2

SCORING SUMMARY

First Half: E–Spencer Weaver (Cessna assist), 35:39; E–Foor (Brown assist), 9:49.

Goalies: Chestnut Ridge–Smith: 13 saves, 15 shots on goal; Everett–Murphy: 5 saves, 5 shots on goal.

Shots: Chestnut Ridge 9; Everett 28

Corner kicks: Chestnut Ridge 4; Everett 6.

Records: Chestnut Ridge (12-5); Everett (14-2).

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