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Big Red shuts out JG 1-0 at Harding

STEUBENVILLE — In a defensive game, the Big Red offense got the job done.

Adam DiCarlo delivered the lone goal of the game to lead the top-ranked Steubenville boys’ soccer team to a 1-0 victory over No. 11 seed John Glenn in an Ohio Division II Eastern District sectional semifinal Tuesday night inside Harding Stadium.

“We saw the scores of the games they played all year,” Big Red (13-2-2) head coach Greg Bowers said. “They played some of the better teams in the district. They played them to 1-0 or 2-1 games at best.

“They had very few chances to score. We were able to get a goal up on them, and we saw why their games were so close. I have not seen a sweeper play behind a flat back.

“We had a lot of shots hit their defenders. We did not score as many goals as we would have liked.”

Having to play so much defense in the game, the Little Muskies were unable to get much going on the offensive end. John Glenn had difficulty all season putting the ball into the back of the net.

“Absolutely, it was a battle,” John Glenn (6-8-2) head coach Kristoffer Koch said. “We had an up and down season all year. We had a hard time scoring goals. I think we scored 12 goals on the year.

“I knew it was going to be a defensive battle. I knew Steubenville’s record, and I talked to some coaches in the area about them. They are a good team. It is tough to break through against them.

“We were playing for extra time. We have an experienced goalie. This is his fourth year between the pipes. We knew if we could get the game into extra time and PKs, we stood a chance. There was a lot of defense played by both teams.

“It was not a pretty goal. Like my grandpa said, they don’t draw pictures on the scoreboard. It was an ugly goal.

“Steubenville is a tough team. They showed why they are the No. 1 seed.”

Big Red will play St. Clairsville in the sectional co-final at 2 p.m. Saturday at Harding.

DiCarlo’s goal came in the first half off of an assist by Brandon Delaratta. Goalie Jacob Clevenger did not have to make a save.

“We worked on things defensively, and we did a better job,” Bowers said. “We were able to shut them down. They have very few chances. They were mostly prayers from deep. The defense stepped up. They were up for the challenge.”

Zak Harper made eight saves in goal for the visitors.

“We had a lot of looks, but they blocked them,” Bowers said. “We had a close opportunity on one of our corner kicks, but their player got to the ball right before we did. We messed up the other one.”

With less than a minute to play, the Little Muskies had one final opportunity to score, but the Big Red defense rose to the challenge and kept them off of the scoreboard.

“This team has potential,” Koch said. “We struggled to gel all season. We lost four seniors from last year’s team. They were quality seniors. Two of them were All-Ohio. Three of them are playing in college.

“We had a lot of holes to fill. We hit our stride at the end of the year.”

St. Clairsville advance to play Big Red by defeating Indian Creek, 3-2, Tuesday on the road. Big Red shut out the Red Devils, 6-0, during the regular season.

“They may play us straight up, but knowing Coach (Gary) Watt, they will seven or eight guys back in the box,” Bowers said. “They will play it long to (Jordan) Vincent and see what he can do. We are going to have to be focused against him on defense. We are going to have to limit his opportunities.

“We are going to have to finish our opportunities. If we are able to score a couple of goals, then they are going to have to come out and play us.”

Playing against a team with a defensive strategy like John Glenn will help Big Red in its game against St. Clairsville.

“In the first couple of games, teams are going to make quite a few adjustments,” Bowers said. “If we are fortunate to finish games like we did tonight, the later you go the more teams will play you straight up and come at you.”

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