Gustavo Marsillac’s late penalty-kick conversion gave Princess Anne a 1-0 win over Lafayette at Wanner Stadium on Tuesday night.
With less than four minutes remaining, a Lafayette (2-1) defender took down a Princess Anne player from behind, prompting the head referee to grant the penalty try. Rams keeper David Domalski guessed correctly but could not do anything to stop Marsillac’s near-perfect placement.
“The keeper was to one side, and I knew he couldn’t dive all the way to the other side,” Marsillac said. “So I went upper-90.”
The lone goal masked a largely quiet evening for Domalski. Lafayette turned in a strong first-half performance and, despite an unorganized and disheveled second half, limited Princess Anne to a handful of legitimate scoring opportunities.
Lafayette captains Reeves Trott and Matthew Beatty fueled the Rams offense in the early going. Trott fed Beatty on the right side for the game’s first scoring chance, and forced Princess Anne’s keeper to make the first of several important saves.
Moments later, Tobi Yanez drew a soft yellow off a slide tackle. Yanez was one of three Rams to draw cautions in the opening 40 minutes: Trott earned his yellow card off a similar slide tackle, while Jason Eckenrode checked a player off the ball just before the half.
To cap the cautions, Princess Anne’s Nick Macdisi earned a booking for a tackle from behind. All told, there were four cards in the match.
During the run of play, Trott and Beatty continued to find success on the right wing. Trott broke through the back line near the 11th minute before cutting inside toward the six-yard box. Another diving save kept the Rams scoreless.
Beatty found himself staring at an open net from 14 yards out nearly 20 minutes into the match, forcing a sprawling save that sent the ball just wide of the far post.
While Lafayette continued to mount scoring opportunities, including a Beatty attempt from 30 yards that spun wide right in the 30th minute, Princess Anne’s back line began to negate the wide spaces and force the Rams into a more narrow approach.
After a scoreless first half, Princess Anne posted an additional attacker on the Ram’s backline. The added pressure paid off as the second-half devolved into a midfield battle for possession. Princess Anne strung together spells of possession that were absent in the first.
“Our defense isn’t as strong as it was last year,” Lafayette senior captain Denzel Speed said. “Last year we had two very decent outside backs, and now we’re trying to figure out who is playing in the back, and we still haven’t figured it out. We’ll sort it out.”
Still, neither side came up with a solution to the other, and goal scoring opportunities dwindled.
Jhosep Huaromo emerged as Princess Anne’s greatest threat, forcing the Rams to keep players behind the ball. At the same time, Trott and Beatty struggled to find quality touches in the offensive third.
Lafayette’s best chance came with 10 minutes remaining. Eckenrode earned a free kick from 30 yards out and, while the Princess Anne defense scrambled to set a wall, the Rams took a shot at the unattended net. The shot missed wide left.
Moments late Princess Anne converted the penalty, leaving Speed and the Rams frustrated.
“Just a tough loss,” Speed said.
–Chris Weber
Princess Anne 1, Lafayette 0
Goals: Princess Anne (Marsillac)
Matt Gerdes scored a late goal to give Bruton (3-1) a narrow 4-3 win on the road at Nandua (1-1).
Andrew Maeso and Lanson Fontaine scored first-half goals for the Panthers, who held a 2-1 lead heading into halftime.
Michael Wilson joined Gerdes in scoring goals in the second half to help lead Bruton to victory.
Goalkeeper Travis Matthews allowed three goals and stopped five shots.
Bruton’s next game will be 6 p.m. Wednesday at home against Churchland.
Bruton 4, Nandua 3
Goals: Bruton (Maeso, Fontaine, Wilson, Gerdes)
Assists: Bruton (Maeso, Wilson, Gerdes)
