Adams is hero vs. pesky Jackets

Scores OT winner in quarterfinals as Panthers escape from Gwynn Park

Friday, Nov. 6, 2009

The third-seeded Panthers (10-3-1) will travel to Marriott's Ridge tonight for a 7 p.m. game against the second-seeded Mustangs, who upended Oakland Mills in another quarterfinal matchup.

Gwynn Park (6-5) was no push-over after coming into the game on the heels of a first-round win over Southern.

"I think the team feels great," said Adams, a senior striker. "It was a hard-fought game and I'm just so happy and super-ecstatic. We played real hard and the whole time we were just trying to put it away."

Senior midfielder Tommy Volpe, who assisted on the first goal of the game in the opening half, added: "Oh definitely, definitely glad the season's still going on."

The two teams traded goals within the first 26 minutes of the game and then settled in for overtime.

"I had a simple message for them: ‘Go get the first goal,' Patuxent head coach Greg McMinn said. "Golden goal is so simple."

"We were just pumped. We knew we had to put them away," Volpe said, "so we just gave it all our effort. Our mindset was pretty much, ‘We've got to put them away.'"

Patuxent immediately pushed toward the Gwynn Park goal. Moments later, Adams headed in a cross from teammate Matt Hallenbeck to set off a euphoric celebration.

"Matt's pretty crucial on those cross balls and it was perfect placement," Adams said, "You couldn't ask for more. I wasn't surprised at all and I just made contact. We just put in hard work the whole game and persistence led to the goal."

It appeared Patuxent would run away and hide when Quinn Trudo converted Volpe's long throw-in in the 12th minute.

"I pretty much just use my entire body like a slingshot and let it go," Volpe said of his deadly throws, which land with regularity deep inside the box. "We've scored maybe half our goals from throw-ins and it's such a great feeling [when we do]."

Patuxent then peppered Gwynn Park goalkeeper Al Vasquez with seven more shots on goal but was unable to finish.

"First couple minutes started off the way we wanted it to and we got the first goal and then all of a sudden we lost our minds," McMinn said. "[Vasquez] was awesome, he certainly kept them in the game. We knew that the longer the game was tied, the longer it would hurt us and help them."

And hurt them it did when Lord Carson Mba-aziantu blasted a left-footed shot in the 26th minute.

"Finishing just wasn't there," Adams said in a gross understatement. "We had so many shots and then they get one and it goes in. We were getting pretty frustrated because we knew we should have had more and put them away. I think our passing was good and our balls were on [target], we just have to put our shots away."

The Panthers came close to taking the lead in the 86th minute, but senior Rob Horten's low shot at the top of the box caromed off defender Douglas Zachary and bounced wide.

"There were a couple times where it looked like they would find the net but our defense stayed patient," McMinn said. "Our attack was not as balanced as it should have been so they stayed in the game a long time. Our finishing was not good and our balance was not good. We were loading one side and all that did was help them defend."

"We hadn't had a game in a while," said Adams, whose team last played on Oct. 19. "But this game made us realize we need to tighten down so we can finish it in regulation because we don't want to go to overtime."

mreid@somdnews.com

Results

Patuxent 2, Gwynn Park 1 (OT)

Gwynn Park 1 0 0

Patuxent 1 0 1

Goals: Gwynn Park (Carson Mba-aziantu); Patuxent (Trudo, Adams)

Saves: Gwynn Park (Vasquez 15); Patuxent (Lee 4)