Osbourn Cedar Run champs with tie
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By Joe Conroy
Published: May 14, 2008
The Osbourn boys soccer team clinched the Cedar Run District regular season title with a 1-1 tie with Osbourn Park in front of an enthusiastic home crowd Wednesday night.
The district crown earns the Eagles an automatic berth into the Northwest Region Tournament.
“It’s a big load off our backs,” Eagles coach David Larson said. “Your ultimate goal at the beginning of the season is to get out of district because you can’t get anywhere without doing that. We knew that doing what we need to do in the regular season, that’s the best route to go.”
By virtue of a 6-0-1 record against Cedar Run opponents, Osbourn can’t be caught by either Osbourn Park (5-1-1) or Battlefield (5-1) for the top spot in the district.
The Yellow Jackets nearly created a muddled mess heading into what could be a rain-abbreviated district tournament when Paul Messier scored to give OP a 1-0 lead with less than two minutes to go in the first half.
After watching the two teams battle evenly once more in the second period, Larson made a change offensively to tip the scales in Osbourn’s favor. Larson opted for a 3-4-3 lineup, shifting senior back Jordan Stark forward with about 10 minutes left in the game.
“We had the momentum in the second half and decided to make a move,” Larson said. “That’s something (Stark)’s been joking at practice about, about how he can finish. I said let’s put him up there and see what he can do.”
After the Yellow Jackets were unable to clear the ball, Stark was in the right spot to capitalize, finding the back of the net with about two and a half minutes to go in regulation.
Two 10-minute overtime periods yielded no goals, giving the Eagles the edge they needed in the standings.
Larry Nemerow, Osbourn Park’s coach, felt his team moved away from their gameplan in the second half, trying to play at a faster pace with a much more athletic team.
“The first half was real technical, two teams knocking the ball around,” Nemerow said. “Back in the day I had a coach who used to say, ‘Dance with the gal that brought you.’ We didn’t do that.”
With impending weather fronts threatening to force the Cedar Run to cut the district tournament short, Nemerow knows his team could be on the outside-looking-in instead of tied for first with the Eagles. Nemerow minced no words regarding how he feels seeing his squad leave its strengths in such a pivotal game.
“If weather cancels the district tournament, we’re done,” he added. “We’ll turn our uniforms in and we deserve that.”
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