Home > Forums

[Sonny Dearth]

Kecoughtan boys beat Gloucester 3-2
By Jeff Cunningham | Correspondent

HAMPTON -- The sun finally came out from behind the clouds in the second half Friday evening at Darling Stadium, and so did the offense.

After a scoreless -- and cloudy -- first half, Kecoughtan used a late goal from Karl Kummer to beat Gloucester 3-2 in a Peninsula District boys soccer match.

"It was a real defensive game in the first half," Kecoughtan coach Franklin Hughes said. "We didn't make too many adjustments (at the half), but we did use our forwards a little bit more in the second half."

With 11:45 left in the match, Kummer took a loose ball near the center of the pitch, getting separation from his defender and pushing the ball past Dukes goalkeeper James Flynn to give the Warriors the final 3-2 edge.

"I couldn't really tell you what went down," Kummer, a sophomore, said. "Everything just went by way too fast and next thing I know, the ball's going in the net and I'm running around with my hands over my head."

"Karl has tremendous speed," Hughes said. "He has an upside that's hard to describe, but his speed is really his greatest asset, and that speed was what created that goal for us."

Kecoughtan (7-3-1, 3-1) drew first blood in the 42nd minute, when Robert Alberti scored on a penalty kick. Gloucester (5-5, 4-1) tied the match at 1 five minutes later on a penalty kick from Derek Hanson.

The Warriors took a 2-1 lead with 24:23 remaining on Alberti's second goal, as Alberti took the feed from Kummer and headed the ball into the net.

Hanson scored again one minute later to tie the match at 2-2.

Kecoughtan goalkeeper Aaron Reed had seven saves. Gloucester had six corner attempts to Kecoughtan's four, but neither team could convert on those chances.

The loss was Gloucester's first in the Peninsula District race, serving to simultaneously keep Kecoughtan in the race and make the Dukes' road to a title tougher.

"It keeps our season alive," Kummer said. "We're trying to win this race, and losing tonight would've made that nearly impossible."

"Our journey's a little tougher, there's no doubt there," Gloucester coach Trey Sowers said. "But we're a young group, and we're playing much better, much more together than we were at the beginning of the season."

KECOUGHTAN 3, GLOUCESTER 2

Halftime--0-0. Goals -- Kecoughtan, Alberti 2, Kummer; Gloucester, Hanson 2. Assists --Kecoughtan, Kummer. Saves -- Kecoughtan, Reed 7; Gloucester, Jordan 2, Flynn 4. Shots --Kecoughtan 20, Gloucester 11. Records -- Gloucester 5-5, 4-1 Peninsula; Kecoughtan 7-3-1, 3-1.