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NEW CASTLE — It may have been Nicky Carrell’s birthday, but the Saint Mark’s freshman was the one doing the giving. His goal four minutes into overtime lifted the Spartans to a 2-1 win at William Penn on Oct. 19.
After 80 physical minutes that included four players receiving yellow cards, the game was tied at a goal each. The Colonials had been in control most of the game, but as the second half progressed, the Spartans evened that out somewhat. That continued into overtime.
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Saint Mark’s had a free kick early in the extra session, but nothing came of it. Shortly thereafter, they regained possession and went on the attack. Matt Ziomek sent a through ball into the left side of the box, where Carrell took over. His shot deflected of an arm of Penn goalkeeper Brian Rios-Saldivar and bounced into the net, making it a very happy birthday, indeed.
It brought an end to an entertaining contest. The Spartans took the lead in the 21st minute when Angelo Sisofo took a pass from Ziomek and dribbled into the box. Rios-Saldivar came out to challenge Sisofo, whose shot got past the keeper and into the back of the net as Sisofo tripped over Rios-Saldivar.
Spartans goalkeeper Sean Lenderman was busy throughout. He made a jumping save before Sisofo’s goal and another a few minutes after. A William Penn shot from a sharp angle went just wide. On a corner kick, the ball was headed over the net. Penn’s Bill Wilson shook two defenders and sent a shot inches wide of the right post.
Wilson knotted the score in the 36th. He took a pass from Nicholas Perez, deked around a defender and sent the shot low to Lenderman’s right. That was it for the scoring until overtime, but not for a lack of opportunities.
In the final minutes of the first half, the Colonials had a shot hit the crossbar, and a goal on the rebound was waved off by the officials. Lenderman made a diving save before the halftime whistle.
The pressure continued into the second half. A Spartans defender deflected an early shot over the end line. Lenderman made another save, and off a Colonials free kick, the keeper made a stop. After that, play evened out.
The Spartans’ best chance to score in the second half came when a goal kick bounced over a defender, leaving Sisofo an opportunity. His shot missed left by a whisker.
There were two more impressive saves before the overtime. Davinson Ariza of William Penn’s header was stopped by a diving Lenderman, and Rios-Saldivar punched a left-footed blast by Ziomek over the crossbar.
The Colonials finished with an 11-6 shot advantage and three corner kicks to one for the Spartans. Rios-Saldivar had four saves. William Penn (7-5-1) travel to Hodgson on Thursday for a 4 p.m. start.
Lenderman was credited with eight saves. The Spartans improved to 7-4 and battle St. Elizabeth on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Talen Energy Stadium in Chester, Pa., the home of the Philadelphia Union.