CTK opener ends in 0-0 draw

With a lot of hype going into the season opener, the Christ the King Royals varsity soccer team played to a 0-0 draw against Bishop Ford at Juniper Valley Park on Friday, September 19.
If there was just one word to describe this game it would be physical. This game was not about who scored the prettiest goal or who had the best pass. It was a game where the first team to make an error would pay for it on the scoreboard.
Christ the King was already at a disadvantage before the game began. The Royals had seven players in the starting line-up out for this game. Christ the King had to get used to a brand new line-up quickly if they were to have any chance of pulling out a victory against a very tough Bishop Ford team.
For the first five minutes of the opening half, Bishop Ford owned possession of the ball testing Christ the King in anyway they could. During these first five minutes, there was a controversial hand touch on the ball that was not called by any of the referees. This seemingly missed call almost led to a quick goal, but Bishop Ford could not take advantage with a shot wide of the net.
As the game moved into the 15th minute, Christ the King began to show some signs of life. The Royals kept on trying to force the play of the ball into the midfield, but Bishop Ford would quickly collapse on the ball not giving Christ the King any room to work with.
As Christ the King continued to carry the play, Bishop Ford went into a more defensive mode of play. Bishop Ford would sit back and react to passes or plays Christ the King would try to do in an attempt to break the scoreless tie. Even though Christ the King was controlling the tempo of the game at this point, it did not matter because they could not get a quality shot. Many shots were going wide or being deflected by the Bishop Ford defense.
At halftime with the score still tied at zero, Christ the King Head Coach Ovid Cusu had some advice for his team. “I want you to keep strong and be physical. Take more shots on goal, do not dribble so much and just take the shot. You have to play physical, this is not little league.”
With those words, Christ the King came out in the second half with a new game plan. Rather than push the ball through the midfield, the Royals began to attack the sidelines and push the ball more up the left wing of the field. Midfielders began to push up a little more in an attempt to support their captain, forward Lukasz Prawdzik. This new plan of attack seemed to open the field up more and change the game from defensive to offensive.
One thing that remained constant throughout the entire game was the physical level of play. Two scary plays developed that saw two Christ the King players leave with injuries. Midfielder Steven Subasic was hit with an inadvertent head butt while going after the ball and forward John Favara was hurt while sliding for a ball against an opposing Bishop Ford player. Fortunately, both players will be okay.
The closest play to a goal happened with about two minutes to go in the game. Off a corner kick for Bishop Ford, the ball landed into a group of players from both teams with Bishop Ford getting the ball and putting a shot off the post. That would be the last chance for a goal for both teams as the game ended in a 0-0 draw.
At the end of the game Lukasz Prawdzik, captain of Christ the King, said, “It was a very physical game, we tried some long balls but the defense was strong and physical.”
Asked about the new plan of attacking the sideline and how the team did overall Lukasz said, “The team played pretty good, but we were missing key playmakers. I tried to make some runs up the left wing because it was a weak spot of Bishop Ford.”
For their next game, Christ the King hopes to have some of their key contributors back in the starting line-up. Even after a hard fought tie, Coach Cusu is very confident that when the team gets some of their starters back, the team will look better.
Christ the King’s next test is against a tough Monsignor McClancy team at Juniper Valley Park on Wednesday, September 24.