Chapin shuts down Seneca in 3A boys soccer playoffs
It took a little while for the Chapin boys to find the soccer net Thursday against Seneca. But once Smith Dawsey kicked in a goal 26 minutes into the second round game in the 3A playoffs, the Eagles had no problem with the Bobcats in a 3-0 victory at Cecil Woolbright Field.
“Those three goals were tough to get,” Chapin coach Ben Bosco said. “Seneca was well-coached and worked really hard tonight. They were fast, but it’s a big field, and you can only run so hard for so long.”
Chapin (16-3) will travel to Taylors to face Eastside, which defeated Walhalla 1-0 Thursday.
The Eagles, coming off a 10-0 first-round victory over Blue Ridge on Tuesday, kept the Bobcats on their heels for the entire game. Seneca (12-9-2) moved the ball into Chapin territory on several occasions, but made just two shots on goal.
“Seneca’s a tough team. We had to grind it out for a little bit,” Dawsey said. “I thought the team did well, we passed and moved well, and I was just lucky enough to score. It could have come from anybody.”
Dawsey, the team’s leading scorer with 25 goals, had two on the night. His first one came shortly after a throw-in close to the goal. Chapin worked the ball in to Dawsey, who crossed it out of the reach of keeper Gabe Sitler with 13:54 left in the first half.
“That definitely helped, that definitely opened up the floodgates, so to speak,” Dawsey said. “Once we got that goal it opened up the game a little more from end to end.”
Chapin went up 2-0 about 10 minutes later. Josh Corning kicked the ball in from the left sideline toward Tyler Martin, who was standing about 10 yards from the goal and facing Sitler square. In that face-off, Martin bounced the ball in for the score.
The Eagles held a 2-0 lead until Dawsey found the net for the second time with 17 minutes left. From midfield, Martin passed to Dawsey on the left side of the goal.
Dawsey made his way to the left side of the net, scooting around Seneca defender Garner Powell.
Once he got around Powell, he placed the ball into the net, well away from Sitler, who couldn’t get into position in time.
Going into Saturday’s game, what stands out about Chapin is the consistency from game to game, no matter the opponent, Bosco said.
“It hasn’t been much of a roller coaster ride. We’re pretty deep as far as player personnel, and we’re pretty balanced from the goal to the top,” he said, noting the team’s lack of drama when it comes to pulling out victories. “It’s a lot less interesting than it could be.”