U17 Boys Advance to Semi-Final of State Cup

05/16/2011…This past weekend the Shattuck-St. Mary’s U17 Boys team played to a 0-0 draw with the Minnesota Thunder on Saturday morning. The draw was all the SSM team needed to win their group and advance to the Semi-Finals against PSA BU17.

After winning their first two group games against Valley United (5-0) and Minneapolis United (3-1), the U17 team went into the weekend sitting at the top of the group and in full control.  Although they didn’t go into the game playing for tie, head coach Steve Cornish made his players fully aware of the situation at hand, and explaining how to control the game.

The game started out with a fast pace, where both teams wanted to test the defense early on. Both teams were well organized in the back and limited each others scoring opportunities through out the game. The Shattuck boys settled down and began to control midfield halfway through the first half. Patrick Barnes, SSM’s leading goal scorer, showed his usual work rate, but was double teamed every time he saw the ball and he found it hard to get a clear chance at goal.

Going into the second half SSM let their guard down early on and opened the door for the Thunder for two quick chances on goal. The SSM shot stopper, Christian Foust came up big on Thunder shots. Foust showed a lot of grit staying in net for the Sabres after being kicked in the jaw during a challenge in the first half.  The best chance on the day came from SSM’s central play-maker and captain Jacob Gandarilla.  Gandarilla collected the ball 35 yards out in the center of the field, surprised no one stepped to him, he took three touches towards goal, and drove a low shot on target, but the shot was deflected out for a corner. 

The U17 boys play on Saturday, May 21st in Isanti, MN at 11:30am.