Charter soccer reaches milestone in tie with Salesianum

Many soccer coaches would not be pleased after their team left the field following a tie against one of the state’s top teams.

However, that was not the case for Charter School of Wilmington coach Jon Gillespie after The Force
played defending state champion Salesianum to a scoreless deadlock Tuesday afternoon at the Hockessin Soccer Club.

“I’m really happy with the way the team played today,” Gillespie said. “Charter has never tied or beaten Sallies ever in the school’s history, so this is a really big accomplishment. It was definitely a dramatic moment for our team.”

One of the most dramatic moments of the game occurred in the 55th minute, when Charter senior Beau Jones slipped behind two Sallies defenders and fired a short-range shot at senior keeper Brian Frame, who made a great save. The ball deflected back to Jones, whose low rebound shot went inches past the right upright and traveled harmlessly out of bounds.

During the last 10 minutes, both teams put on offensive pressure with Salesianum having several good scoring chances. In the 82nd minute, senior striker Chris Kask was stopped cold by Charter keeper Nick Alexander. Then two minutes later, Sallies senior Thatcher Howell was denied a goal on another great save by Alexander.

“I thought Charter deserves a lot of credit. They really played well today,” said Salesianum coach Scott Mosier. “I was impressed with their style. They really knocked the ball around. So, it was a good possession game.”

Mosier characterized Charter’s defense as “bending but not breaking” as a key to the Force’s success.

“Throughout the game, they didn’t allow us inside the 18, and not get any close range shots,” Mosier said. “They allowed us to keep the ball a little bit, but possession is not the game. The game is to put the ball in the net.”

In the first half, Charter applied offensive pressure in the 10th and 15th minutes of play. During that time, senior Chad Jackson and junior Ian Beringer got several good shots on Frame.

By the 18th minute, Sallies had gotten some rhythm and consistency to their offense. Senior Eric Burns had a scoring chance stopped by the Charter defense. The diminutive junior Dante Marini and senior Justin Kirk worked the ball past numerous Charter defenders, only to be thwarted time and time again before reaching the net.

“Charter really does have a good defense,” Mosier said. "Their center-backs are seniors and very athletic, and it’s very difficult to go down the middle of the field against them. So you are forced to go wide to move the ball. We knew they would come out playing hard, and they certainly did today.”

After achieving a tie against the Sals, Gillespie feels his team has a chance to improve even more through the rest of the season.

“We are building towards the state tournament, so today was a good result for us,” he said. “We had our chance in the box near the end, but Sallies had their chances. They are the team to beat.”