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HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER ROUNDUP : Saints Win on Albers’ OT Goal

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It was 10 minutes into overtime of another scoreless soccer game when St. Augustine’s Matt Tessier sent a long throw-in some five yards off the near post.

Perfect positioning: It was barely far enough from the goal to make Crawford goalie Brian Gaske hesitate a moment wondering if he should leave his line to corral the ball.

Gaske did go after it, except he got there a split second too late. St. Augustine’s Peter Albers was already in position waiting for the pass, and when he and Gaske went up to joust for the ball, Gaske lost.

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So did Crawford, 1-0.

Gaske fell to the ground, and Albers, who kept his balance, was able to tuck the loose ball inside the post to give St. Augustine a berth in the Section Division III championship game March 7 at a site to be determined.

The key to the play wasn’t that Albers was able to keep Gaske from controlling the ball, but rather that he got away with a little shove to Gaske that caused the goalie to fall.

“Hey, we were just fighting for the ball,” Albers said. “I saw him going up for it and I thought I’d challenge him. I was just lucky enough to jar the ball loose.”

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From Tessier’s view on the sideline, the victory was a foregone conclusion when Albers and Gaske jumped for the ball.

“When Peter went up with the goalie,” Tessier said, “I said, ‘Yes, here it is, baby.’ I knew we would pump it in sooner or later.”

No. 3-seeded St. Augustine (17-1-2), which shut out University City, 2-0, in the quarterfinals, has not allowed a goal in 170 minutes of playoff action.

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Crawford, which came in with the second seed because it was the City Central League champion, finished at 12-6-2.

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