Cultivating Christian Minds and Character
Skip main content and go to side navigationCurrent Site Location:
Winter 2008 Season
Pirates knock down Wildcats
The Wildcats five game unbeaten streak came to a screeching halt on Tuesday at Pattonville in the first round of the St. Louis Shoot-Out Tournament as did their impressive scoring output. The Pirates of Pattonville scored the game’s only goal in the 78th minute to give the Wildcats their first loss of the young season. For the first time this year Westminster played on a grass turf and it seemed to be a difficult adjustment for them. Last week all five games were played on synthetic turf which gives a much faster and smoother roll to the ball. On Tuesday it appeared many of the Wildcats’ passes were not hit firmly or were slightly behind the intended target. In the first half, Westminster had a slight edge in possession and control of the game. Neither team could manage many scoring opportunities. Westminster had a chance in the 17th minute when center midfielder Daniel Miller stole the ball in midfield and sent a ball down the wing to senior forward Ben Baldwin. After receiving a return pass, Miller sent a ball across the goal to sophomore Connor Hunsicker who could not quite get a shot off. The Wildcats had another chance in the 21st minute. Sophomore Matt Hudnut served up a free kick that senior Michael Shapleigh flicked on across the box where Baldwin blasted a shot wide of the goal. Five minutes later Jake Grimes hit a free kick into the Pattonville penalty box. The ball bounced out to senior back Alex Sagi who cranked a shot just past the post. Westminster continued to play reasonably well in the final minutes of the first half. Winger Jimmy Munson beat a defender along the end line and dropped a ball to Hunsicker whose shot missed the target. The first half ended scoreless. As the second half began Pattonville seemed to come out with a bit more energy. The Pirates were bigger and stronger than the Wildcats and they used that to their advantage in the second half. The officials allowed the game to become very physical and that helped Pattonville. In just the second minute of the second half Pattonville worked the ball into the corner and lofted a cross into the box. Junior Wildcat goalkeeper Sean Griffin, seeing his first action of the year, handled the cross easily. In the 47th minute Pattonville had another good chance. A Pirate forward broke free behind the defense. Senior center back Brian Keffer pressured the Pattonville player, forcing him to shoot wide. Westminster countered two minutes later as Miller took the ball through the middle of the field and dropped a pass to Shapleigh who quickly slid it into the corner for Munson. After beating a defender, Munson sent the ball across into the box where it eventually ended up at the feet of Jared Camp. He hit a shot that deflected off of a Pirate defender for a corner kick. At about the 55 minute mark Pattonville seemed to take control of the game. The Pirate players began to flex their muscle and knock the Wildcat players off of the ball. Another near breakaway for Pattonville was broken up by defender Jessiah Chard. In the 61st minute Pattonville had a flurry of shots that were either blocked by the Westminster defenders or went wide of the goal. Ten minutes later the Pirates had their best chance so far when a long throw in was sent into the box. The ball was cleared out of the box but went to a Pattonville player who blasted a shot from 20 yards out. Griffin made a great reaction save to his left keeping the Pirates off of the scoreboard. Just after that Westminster’s Michael Evetts had a shot go wide following another Hudnut corner. In the 38th minute Westminster was on the attack when Pattonville stole the ball and went on a quick 3v2 counter attack. A Pirate player ripped a shot off of the far post past the diving Griffin. The rebound came to an unmarked Pattonville player who put it past Griffin from point blank range. It appeared that the goal scorer was in an offside position when the initial shot was taken, but the referee did not make the call. Westminster had a couple of corner kicks in the final minute, but could not get the equalizer. This was the first time the Westminster offense had been held to fewer than two goals, let alone be shut out. The Wildcats are back in action on Thursday in round two of the tournament. The game is at 4:15 PM at Westminster against Parkway West.
Scoring Summary
78:00 Pattonville