Mechanicsburg still owns Cumberland Valley

October 28, 2007

By Jeffrey Kauffman

Last updated: Sunday, October 28, 2007 1:28 AM EDT

Sports Reporter

Sportsdoor@cumberlink.com

HARRISBURG — Gaetano Panuccio made sure Cumberland Valley wouldn’t extract revenge on his team.

Thanks to a hat trick from Panuccio, Mechanicsburg slipped past Cumberland Valley, 3-2, in the quarterfinals of the District 3-AAA boys’ soccer tournament at Central Dauphin’s Landis Field. Two weeks ago the Wildcats beat CV, 2-1.

“ This was huge,” Panuccio said. “I couldn’t do this without my team. It starts in the back with Chris White, Steve Fowler, Will Laubach and Garrett Murphy. Plus, Sam (Burkholder) had a great game and has kept us in every game this year. We have (Greg Bretz) and Cort (Hutchinson) in the middle and all I have to do is finish them.

“It is all about the team effort.”

“ We always seem to catch Cumberland Valley and they usually get the best of us,” Lougee said. “We have had a tough week with Gettysburg and then a tough Hempfield team and now Cumberland Valley. I think it shows the type of heart this team has to get the three results we did this week.

Panuccio’s game-winner came with 3:34 left in the match as he ran onto a loose ball that bounced around a bit after the initial Will Laubach throw and flicked it right-footed past CV keeper Vish Arya and into the net, setting off a celebration.

With the win, the Wildcats guaranteed themselves at least two more games. Mechanicsburg (16-5-2) faces Red Land, a 1-0 winner over Wilson on Saturday, Wednesday night at a site and a time to be determined in the semifinals.

For the Eagles (11-10-2), it brought an end to a frustrating season against an arch-rival.

“We had a really good group of seniors this year,” CV coach Matt Billman said. “This team went through a lot. When we were 4-7-1, the seniors just took over and I really wanted one more game for them. I am very proud of them for getting back to this level again this year. These seniors are special kids.”

The same can be said for Panuccio, who worked through some adversity to score the game-winner.

“I was trying to hit it with my left foot but I was trying to cut it back and the right foot was in the way,” Panuccio said. “This is a real rivalry game. Coach (Tony) Lougee does such a good job of preparing us and we are a real family out there. We played well as a team tonight.”

Saturday night’s game, between familiar opponents, was eerily familiar the game from two weeks ago as the Wildcats jumped out to a 2-0 halftime advantage.

Mechanicsburg junior striker John Arnold injured an ankle one minute into the game and didn’t return.

Both team had chances early but shots were hit wide or over the top. Panuccio had two headers over the top, while the Eagles’ best opportunity was shot by Niko Corado, which deflected off a Wildcat defender, forcing Burkholder to sprawl out to grab the carom.

Panuccio scored his first goal in the 34th minute as he gathered a ball from White, spun left and took two dribbles and crossed the ball back into the far corner.

John DeNicola had a great chance moments later as Bretz fed a through ball that Arya snagged off DeNicola’s foot.

Mechanicsburg added to the lead a minute later as Panuccio again turned left and slotted a ball into the far right corner for the two goal lead.

Arya saved the Eagles deficit from ballooning to three goals as he slid into shot by Andrew Bohn, who was gathering flip from Panuccio over the defense. Arya read it perfectly and smothered it as Bohn went to hit it.

The Eagles started to gather steam in the second half and had a couple of chances but Burkholder was there to snag a header and a cross.

CV took advantage of a rare Wildcat mistake and Corado was able to knock one past Burkholder to close the deficit.

Cumberland Valley responded quickly and tied the game, 2-2, several minutes later in the second half, getting its goal on a questionable penalty kick. There was a collision on the edge of the box and two players went down. The outside referee never hesitated and awarded a penalty kick. Jeff Gring nailed it to bring the contest even.

Mechanicsburg had the better chances over the final fifteen minutes but could not solve Arya.

The Wildcats dominated in overtime and finally got that golden goal.

“We played well the first seven or eight minutes of the second half but give Cumberland Valley credit, they are a good team,” Lougee said. “Our kids came back well.”

“ We are ready for anybody that we play. It all starts with heart and this team has a lot of it,” Panuccio said. “Bretz and Chris White just make plays all over the field. They set the tone for this team.”

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