ANGELUS LEAGUE SOCCER : Mater Dei Holds Off Servite to Win Title

Mater Dei High School got enough of the bounces and a few of the rolls Thursday to maintain its reign over the Angelus League.

The Monarchs managed to hold off Servite, 2-1, to win their fifth consecutive boys’ soccer league championship. However, Mater Dei Coach Martin Stringer was more into sighing with relief than jumping for joy.

A shot by Jimmy Cook trickled into an open net to give the visiting Monarchs (15-6-3, 6-0-2 in league play) a 2-0 lead with 10 minutes left.

With four minutes left, Servite’s Gary Schoeman picked up a loose ball in front of the net and scored from 15 yards out. The Friars (11-9-2, 5-1-2) gambled and pressured the rest of the way, but Mater Dei’s defense held.

“After we got the second goal, I thought we had it wrapped up,” Stringer said. “But when they scored, I got very worried. That was the longest four minutes of my life.”

Mater Dei controlled play at both ends of the field from the start. The Monarchs put constant pressure on the defense and turned away each Servite threat.

However, Mater Dei couldn’t put the ball into the net.

“We’ve had that problem all year,” Stringer said. “We don’t finish off our attacks.”

With eight minutes left in the half, Cook’s corner kick was headed toward the net by Steve Mastropaolo. Servite goalie Jeromy Parsell made the save, but the ball bounced right back to Mastropaolo, who scored into an open net.

Mater Dei had two scoring opportunities in the second half, but came away with nothing.

Chris Olivieri scored on a rebound, but officials ruled the Monarchs offside. A few minutes later, Luis Cevallos broke free from a defender, but Parsell made a diving save.

Finally, with 10 minutes left, Cook took a pass close to the goal, side-stepped Parsell and shot into an open net while being knocked down by a Servite defender.