Judge finally beats La Salle, now focusing on soccer playoffs

(La Salle's Patrick Sinnott (left) and Father Judge's John Myers battle for ball.)

As the referee blew his whistle one final time, signifying the game's end, the Father Judge soccer team sprinted to midfield, where they exchanged emphatic high-fives.

It wasn't an overwhelming celebration, but it was celebration nonetheless.

The Crusaders had defeated La Salle for the first time in 5 years, 2-1, on their home turf. More importantly, the Cruasders remained undefeated in Catholic League play, at 12-0-1. La Salle fell to 11-2-0.

Despite the emotional win, the Crusaders know they haven't won anything yet. And the two-time defending champion Explorers know they still have time to recover.

"We just met the challenge today," Judge coach John Dunlap said. "I think we wanted it a bit little more in the first half and got the edge."

"J.D. [Dunlap] and I have been around long enough to know that the big games are yet to come," La Salle coach Robert Peffle said. "But certainly in the standings and the battle for first place, sure, it's a big game. The players on both teams know that. The good part about this big game is, there still are games to go."

Senior forward Wayne Maminski put Judge on the board only a few minutes into the game and the Crusaders never looked back. Rich Romano, a senior midfielder, added another goal midway through the first half as the Crusaders shut out La Salle in the opening session.

Patrick Sinnott netted a score for the Explorers early in the second half, but that was all the scoring La Salle could muster.

Maminski's goal was his team-high 22nd, which he flicked over the head of La Salle's goalie for a 1-0 lead.

"Maminski's such a good player," Peffle said. "He plays the game the right way. He'll attack you. If you double him, he's going to lay it off to somebody else and then quickly move to get it back."

The Crusaders kept the ball in La Salle's zone for much of the first half, applying pressure from the flanks.

"Everyone was talking, everyone was really hyped before the game - focused," Maminski said. "We were just moving the ball really good. Everyone was talking, organized. When all that stuff works out, you're set for a good half."

Romano capped the half with his goal, which came on a pass John Myers placed 2 yards in front of the net. That gave Judge a 2-0 lead at halftime.

The Explorers adjusted their defense by applying more pressure to the sides, forcing Judge to attack from the center. La Salle got right back in the game when Sinnott scored shortly into the second half, cutting the lead to 2-1.

"We always start off good, but then we slack off," Romano said. "Once we get a lead we have to keep up the pressure the whole 80 minutes."

The Explorers scattered a few scoring opportunities throughout the remainder of the game, but they couldn't find the net and the Crusaders held onto first place.

"We don't score a lot of goals," Peffle said. "We win a lot of close games. To go down two against a really good squad like Judge is tough to come back."

Judge has two more games remaining before the league playoffs begin on Nov. 3, but is focused simply on attaining the top seed.

"It's playoff time now," Dunlap said. "You can start to feel the weather changing and we want to take it to the next level. Today playing La Salle, we knew this was a playoff game and we want to match that level."

If Judge indeed captures the No. 1 seed, and La Salle grabs the No. 2 spot, a potential rematch could occur for the championship on Nov. 17.

"There's a lot of soccer that has to go, if we play them again somewhere," Peffle said. "If we do, that will be great. That means we've survived a few playoff games." *

http://www.philly.com/dailynews/sports/20071025_Judge_finally_beats_La
_Salle__now_focusing_on_soccer_playoffs.html