Notre Dame Defeats Boyd-Buchanan In Class A/AA Soccer Sectionals

Two Goals From Michael Quatrano Put Irish Back In State

  • Saturday, May 21, 2016
  • Jaime Barrett
Notre Dame's Michael Quatrano scores on a free kick in the 79th minute to give the Irish a 2-0 win over Boyd-Buchanan.
Notre Dame's Michael Quatrano scores on a free kick in the 79th minute to give the Irish a 2-0 win over Boyd-Buchanan.
photo by Greg Davick

Goals in the opening and closing minutes of Saturday afternoon’s Class A/AA soccer sectional helped Notre Dame achieve its goal of a return trip to the state tournament, but the defense the Irish played in between might have been the key in earning a spot at next week’s Spring Fling.


A loss in Thursday’s region final forced the sixth-ranked Irish to go on the road for the sectionals against a dangerous, unbeaten and fourth-ranked Boyd-Buchanan team, but Notre Dame ended the Bucs’ season with two goals from Michael Quatrano and a shutout by the Irish defense.


“They’re a really strong team and one of their biggest strengths is set plays, so we’ve been working on defending those better,” Notre Dame coach Jim Schermerhorn said after his team celebrated its 2-0 victory.

“I think we did a very good job with that. I was pretty pleased with how that worked out for us. They worked really hard and put a ton of pressure on us, but I thought we just kind of absorbed that. We were never in panic mode.”


Notre Dame took the early lead about 10 minutes into the match when Quatrano was taken down inside the box, then stepped in to make the ensuing penalty kick. The 1-0 lead allowed the Irish to focus on defense the rest of the half, and although Boyd-Buchanan still had several dangerous chances, the Bucs couldn’t finish any.


“It didn’t really affect our gameplan any, but it was definitely unlucky for us to be down 1-0,” Boyd-Buchanan coach Dustin Walker said. “Giving up a goal that early in that game was tough. It probably let them sit back a little more to try and defend the lead, but we still had a lot of chances to get a goal. But regardless of how many chances you have, it comes down to whether you finish them. And they finished their chances, and we did not.”


The Bucs came out with early pressure in the second half, with two corner kicks in the first five minutes, and had several more near-misses on headers following corners. As Boyd-Buchanan continued to pressure for an equalizer, the game’s momentum shifted after a delay with 22 minutes remaining as officials and coaches discussed the outcome of a collision between Notre Dame keeper James Teal and Boyd-Buchanan’s Will Boyanton.


Teal received a yellow card, but the Irish were awarded the restart when it was ruled that Boyanton was called offside just before the collision, leaving both coaches displeased with the result.


“It could have been a turning point, but it didn’t go our way, and that’s just sports,” Walker said.


Said Schermerhorn, “I didn’t agree with the call. A goalkeeper in that situation is allowed to protect himself. It is what it is, but I think it gave us more of a boost. We started to step up and play harder.”


When play resumed, the Irish defense, led by center backs Alex Darras and Jared Henry, continued to pack in to prevent a tying goal. And with 1:52 remaining, Notre Dame was awarded a free kick that Quatrano sent in for a 2-0 advantage.


“When you’re under that kind of pressure, a one-goal lead is awesome, but with one simple mistake, you’re tied and thinking about overtime,” Schermerhorn said. “So picking up that second goal is not only huge for us, but also really hurts the other team. It was a great kick and a huge boost for us.”


Quatrano’s second score had the opposite effect on Boyd-Buchanan, creating a lead that was  all but insurmountable with less than two minutes left on the clock.


“Once they put that in, that kind of took the win out of our sails,” Walker said. “The guy had a great shot.”


With the win, Notre Dame improves to 17-5-3 and earns its first trip to Spring Fling since 2013. The Class A/AA  state tournament begins Tuesday at the Richard Siegel Soccer Complex in Murfreesboro.


“We’ve struggled the past couple of years with trying to get our wins and move on,” Schermerhorn said. “We haven’t graduated a lot, so it’s pretty much the same group of guys, and this is everything to them. It hasn’t just been hard work this year, but the last three years, and it’s finally paying off for them.”


The loss ended the season in heartbreaking fashion for Boyd-Buchanan, which had made it all the way to the sectionals without a loss. The Bucs said an emotional goodbye to their seven seniors after finishing with a 17-1-1 record to go with District 5 and Region 3 championships.


“The reason it was so emotional is that we’ve been coaching these guys since they were four years old,” Bucs coach Jason Owens said. “There’s a group of kids that have come through that have played together since they were little kids. They do everything together. We knew we had a special team this year, and for it to turn out this way where we’re not going to state, it hurts. But at the end of the day, we’re proud of who they are. They’re some of the best kids we’ve ever coached.”


(E-mail Jaime Barrett at jaimenbarrett@gmail.com)


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