St. Anne’s drops Prep matchup

Netting an early goal often sets the tone in soccer. Going up on an opponent in the early minutes allows the team with the advantage to gain momentum and confidence.

Jay Weisbrod of St. Christopher’s was able to tally early in Friday’s contest with St. Anne’s-Belfield as the visitors from Richmond came away with a tough 3-1 victory.

Weisbrod opened the scoring eight minutes in as he received a high through ball that went over STAB’s back line. Weisbrod controlled the ball on the inside right of the box and managed to touch it into the left side of the goal.

St. Christopher’s (5-4-1, 2-0-1 Prep League) added two more goals in quick succession in the second half courtesy of Francisco Byrne and Fitz-Henry Boze that put the game away.

STAB coach Mark O’Donnell thought his team let up after St. Chris scored its second goal, resulting in a 3-0 deficit minutes later.

“They get a guy free who makes a nice finish,” he said. ”We put our head down and they get another one. Against good teams you can’t have let downs.”

Despite the three-goal deficit, St. Anne’s did not let up much, battling hard and looking to get on the scoreboard. For much of the game, STAB was able to possess the ball and advance forward but the most important part, which is creating quality opportunities, failed to exist for periods of time.

“We couldn’t effectively get behind their defense,” O’Donnell said. “They tracked back very well.”

STAB was able to cut the lead late in the second half thanks to a goal from midfielder Jay Everett off a Dustin Baellow assist.

The center midfielder controlled the ball outside of the 18-yard box, shifted his body to the left and knocked a beautiful strike into the top left corner of the goal.

St. Christopher’s coach Jay Wood realized that this could have been a very different game if STAB had converted an early scoring chance.

“They play balls well through the middle,” he said. “They had some very good chances. We were fortunate.”

It was a tough result for STAB (4-4, 1-2), which took its first home loss of the season.

STAB showed that it can compete with some of the top teams in the state, but O’Donnell knows his team can do more.

“I thought we gave them a game,” he said. “What does that say about us? That remains to be seen.”

STAB hosts Trinity Episcopal on Tuesday.