Calvert Hall soccer’s final order coming out of halftime was to simply win the first five minutes of the second half and go from there.
The No. 3 Cardinals did just that at Mount Saint Joseph on Tuesday..
They scored the go-ahead goal two minutes into play and added another in a strong final 40 minutes to claim a 3-1 win over the No. 5 Gaels in Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference play.
Senior forward Zach Tamanini scored two goals as the Cardinals improve to 2-0 on the season. It was the season opener for Mount Saint Joseph, which played without injured standout forward Ashton Wray.
In the early season, the Cardinals have shown resilience and that they are a second-half team. In both games — they opened the season with a 3-2 comeback win over Spalding on Thursday — they fell behind early, but adamantly stayed on course.
Six goals in two games had Calvert Hall coach Rich Zinkand pleased.
“Everybody is going to give up some goals, but we feel if we can stay compact defensively, limit chances, we’ll be good,” he said. “We’ve scored three goals each game, so we know we’re going to create the chances offensively.”
The absence of Wray, who was injured playing club ball over the weekend, left a huge void for the Gaels, who was down to two senior starters and had six freshmen on the field during stretched of the game.
They weren’t deterred early.
And when Francis Duodo curled in a cross from the left side that pinballed off the pack in front before his brother, Immanuel Duodo, deflected it in, the Gaels had a 1-0 advantage in the 10th minute.
The Cardinals were quick to respond when Tamanini cleanly struck a free kick from 25 yards for the tying goal less than three minutes later.
After the game was played on even terms in the first half, tied 1-1 at the break, the Cardinals cranked it up and the Gaels showed their youth.
Two minutes into the second half, Freddie Harris served in a free kick to the middle that skirted defenders and then found Harry Vasilios, who buried the chance from eight yards for the 2-1 lead. A textbook goal with 28 minutes left provided insurance for the Cardinals, Grant Hamilton winning a one-on-one battle at the left edge and then sending a low cross for Tamanini to finish.
The Cardinals protected the lead with quality possession, Mount Saint Joseph’s best chance to get closer coming with under 10 minutes to play when Max Madrid sent a shot from 16 yards wide of the goal.
“The first game we fought back from 2-0 and this game was 1-0, so I think it just shows what kind of team we have. We just never stopped,” said Tamanini, who has four goals in the two wins. “We’ve been scoring goals and playing some good defense — going 2-0 is a great start for sure.”
Mount Saint Joseph coach Mike St. Martin was disappointed with the defensive lapse to surrender the go-ahead goal in the second half. Otherwise, he was fine with the effort from his Gaels. The sudden news of losing Wray, who brings goal-scoring ability, solid two-way play and leadership as a captain, presented a tough challenge.
St. Martin singled out the play of his two freshman center backs — Cooper Johnson and Holden Jones — in addition to goalie Jace Milnes and senior captain Alec Sexton, who moved up into Wray’s position at attack midfielder.
“As far as getting used to the MIAA, it’s a whole new level and I thought our younger guys did fantastic,” he said. “I think we had four freshman in there at the same time and we played six, so I think for them, it was a great first test. Getting used to the MIAA, it’s a whole new level, and I thought our younger guys did fantastic.”
Mount Saint Joseph next travels to No. 1 McDonogh on Friday with game time set for 4:15. Calvert Hall is off for the rest of the week, set to visit Spalding at 4 p.m. Monday.
Have a news tip? Contact Glenn Graham at ggraham@baltsun.com, 410-332-6636 and x.com/GlennGrahamSun.
Goals: CH — Tamanini 2, Vasilios; MSJ — I. Duodu
Assists: CH — Harris, Hamilton; MSJ — F. Duodo
Saves: CH — DiCocco 1; MSJ — Milnes 4
Half: 1-1