October 15, 2010
Going the distance
Ajani Phillips scored a first half goal for St. Peter's Prep yesterday.
Click Here for more photos from St. Peter's Prep at Dickinson.
By Jason Bernstein
Editorial Director
JERSEY CITY – With the ball 40 yards away, it might not seem as if a goal is imminent. For St. Peter’s Prep and Roberto Chernez it’s where they are at their most dangerous.
Chernez’s powerful leg on free kicks helped set up two goals in a span of 12 minutes as the Marauders blanked Dickinson 2-0 yesterday at Caven Point.
“I really don’t look to score (on them),” said Chernez, a junior. “I look to set up my forwards, whoever is up there in the best position to get it.
“I know if I take four or five (free kicks) in a game, we’ll get at least one of them.”
“That’s big,” added Dickinson head coach Gus Joulian, who said defending free kicks has been a big weakness for his team. “If you can put the ball pinpoint and all the players know where it’s going, that’s a tough thing to beat.”
Given a free kick from roughly 35 yards away in the 25th minute, Chernez unleashed a perfect pass to Matteusz Brela who headed the ball into the net for the opening goal.
Chernez’s power and accuracy was on display once again in the 36th minute, when he sent another free kick towards the goal from 40 yards away. This it bounced off a Rams (3-8-1) defender and right to Ajani Phillips who had an easy goal to make it 2-0 in favor of St. Peter’s Prep (10-4).
“When we have a free kick, me and (Roberto) will look at each other, see eye-to-eye,” Phillips said. “I look at him, he looks at me and he just crosses it. It’s like an automatic goal every time.”
The goal was Phillips’ team-leading 12th of the season. Despite being just a freshman he has met, if not exceeded the high expectations on him heading into the season.
“Ajani is doing a really good job and I expected it,” Marauders head coach Josh Jantas said. “In preseason he played really well and earned his spot on the team. For Ajani to step up and shoulder the load, it’s a really good job by him.”
The two-goal advantage proved to be enough for Prep as they used a strong defensive performance to keep the Rams’ offense off-balance for large stretches of time. Most importantly, they were able to contain the speed of Dickinson forward Terrol Ishmael, who was coming off a two-goal performance in the first round of the Hudson County Tournament.
“To me Terrol is one of the best strikers not only in the county, but also in the state,” Jantas said. “He’s a very dangerous player and we take his ability to score goals very seriously.”
Keeper Ryan Baird made five saves in net for the Marauders in the victory. Three of them came on shots from Ismael in the opening half. Sophomore Edwin Islas made six saves for Dickinson in defeat.
The Rams, seeded eighth, will look to bounce back in the HCT quarterfinals on Saturday at top-seeded Kearny. The fifth-seeded Marauders will face off with fourth-seeded Union City.
Khalid Benalla and the Rams look to upset Kearny in the HCT quarterfinals.
1st |
2nd |
Total |
|
| St. Peter's Prep Marauders (10-4) | 2 |
0 |
2 |
| Dickinson Rams (3-8-1 | 0 |
0 |
0 |
| SPP: Matteusz Brela (Roberto Chernez) 25th minute | |||
| SPP: Ajani Phillips (Chernez), 36th minute | |||
Goalies: D: Edwin Islas (6 saves); SPP: Ryan Baird (5 saves). |
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