On Wednesday evening, the Wildcats had their second match of their playoff run as they came up against the Westlake Demons, a counter attacking-oriented team fresh off of a 4-3 win against Midview. The Wildcats were coming off a massive 12-0 win over the Parma Senior Redmen, and they were ready for the occasion and prepared to play.
The Wildcats would emerge with a 9-1 victory, but not before a strong challenge by Westlake.
The game started with a bang, as just two minutes into the match, the Wildcats struck first. A slotted ball onto the right side of the edge of the 18-yard box from Luciano Pechota to his partner in crime in the middle Nolan Spicer, as Spicer hit a shot with power, going underneath the arm of the goalkeeper and trickling into the net for an early 1-0 Wildcat lead.
It did not take long for the Demons to respond at all, however, as striker Basheer Alramahi and Justin Shreffler linked up on a quality attacking chance to bring the Demons equal, costing the Wildcats their sixth goal conceded on the season.
The minutes after this were mainly dominated by the Wildcats, getting some good pressure in the final two thirds and a couple solid chances, but were not able to make much of them, though. With that said, the pressure and patience was immaculate; the Wildcats didn’t quite let the scoreline get into their head and continued to play well on the offensive side of things.
About 13 minutes after the equalizer from Shreffler, the Wildcats found a way to knock another in. Senior captain Marko Rimac made a great run into the box only to be brought down by a Westlake center back for a clear penalty. Rimac took the penalty with confidence and had a great deal of power on the strike as it drilled the back netting. The Cats were back into the lead.
Shortly after this, the Wildcats would put in another one, as Spicer linked up with Pechota. The junior put in a solid shot from just inside the 18-yard box, as it drilled the top netting for a 3-1 lead.
To top it off before the half, the Wildcats would score one more time to give themselves further momentum going into the half. Marko Rimac would play a ball through to Nolan Spicer, who would go on to making an ungodly run down the line, fending off defenders and playing a ball into the middle. After a strange deflection and pass the ball would fall into the feet of Josip Rimac, who would make the turn and put in an absolute belter off of a goal off of the inside of the crossbar. 4-1, Wildcats in the lead going into the half.
After some problems being addressed, and a passionate halftime speech from Assistant Coach Dan Crew ‘99, the Wildcats came into the second half with an even bigger goal difference, scoring 5 goals in total through the half. Nolan Spicer finished with a hat trick, the team’s second of the year, Luciano Pechota bringing in another assist, Antonio Morini, Francis Pacetti, among others impacting the scoring as the Wildcats thrived on the attacking end, finishing the game with an impressive 9-1 final.
The Wildcats will advance to the District Finals against the North Olmsted Eagles, who defeated Lakewood with a golden goal in overtime by junior Owen Reyes.
The Wildcats will take them on at 1 p.m. at Wasmer Field, and of course, the game will be broadcasted on the SIBN. Tune in with your’s truly if you want, it will be a very interesting game from me, as I grew up in the NOSO system. A lot of those players were my former friends and teammates, and I know that they are very capable of bringing the competition, so it should be a very good match. Stay tuned for that, there may even be a pre-game show at 12 p.m. to cover the regular season, some analysis, and more. Go Cats!