On Monday, September 17, the Cathedral Prep soccer teams traveled to the Gus Anderson Field to take on McDowell for the annual “Kick For The Cure” game.
This game is held in order to raise money for the nonprofit Linked by Pink. Linked by Pink aims to increase awareness of young breast cancer, as well as providing financial and emotional support to local patients and their families. All proceeds made from ticket sales, concessions, basket raffles, 50/50 drawings, and the bake sale were given to the non-profit.
The varsity game kicked off at 7:30 p.m, after the rosters and the players’ dedications for the game were announced.
The pace of the game was set from the start. Both teams started with swift, physical play.
Early on in the first half, McDowell applied some pressure on the Prep’s back line, making plays to possess the ball on the edge of the 18-yard box. However, they largely failed to register shots on target.
The Ramblers did a great job building up and maintaining possession by starting from their own goal and transitioning it into chances in the midfield. They did struggle on several occasions to complete through balls to the strikers to get shots on goal.
Eventually, the Ramblers broke through McDowell’s defense, allowing senior Tyler Vandemerwe to find space inside and slot one away past the keeper, making the score 1-0.
The game was certainly physical and intense, with many free kicks awarded. There was even a yellow card given to a McDowell player as a result of an altercation after the play. McDowell managed to cross in many set pieces, but many of them were uneventful. There was one cross which landed in the box, and Prep’s first-half goalkeeper, senior Jake Trocki, would have to make an outstanding goal line save from a quick, short distance shot.
“I think early on the game could have went either way,” Jake said. “We weren’t really playing well. I knew we were better, but they were putting on the pressure, and we easily could have gotten scored on. I knew I had to make that save. Otherwise it’s 1-1 before half time, and the game is completely changed.”
For the start of the second half, junior Fidele Ndgazia substituted in at the goalkeeper position. Otherwise, the flow of the game remained the same.
McDowell would make attempts at goal but came up short, usually shooting wide of the goal or being stopped by the defense. The physicality and tempo remained constant from the first half as well.
Tyler Vandemerwe stepped up again in the second half, scoring his second goal of the game and the second goal for Prep. The game would end with the Ramblers victorious by a score of 2-0.
The Men of Match included the two goal-scorer Tyler Vandemerwe, and the shutout goalkeeper duo consisting of Jake Trocki and Fidele Ndgazia.
Cathedral Prep captain David Clark summarized the overall team’s performance. “It was certainly a hard fought [battle] throughout the whole game,” he said. “We were aiming to have won by a larger margin and play better overall. At the end of the day, we got the win and helped support a great cause.”