Chartiers Valley boys turn attention to postseason

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, October 14, 2017 | 1:33 AM

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The Chartiers Valley boys soccer team is proving the old adage “defense wins championships” applies as much to futbol as it does to football.

The Colts' 1-0 shutout of South Fayette on Oct. 10 was their fifth in a row and ninth of the season. More importantly, it gave the defending WPIAL Class AAA champions the outright Section 4 title.

That should get the Colts a favorable seed when the WPIAL playoffs begin Saturday. South Fayette, runner-up to the Colts in Section 4 and the only team to beat CV in section matches, also qualified.

The girls teams from those schools qualified for the playoffs too, as did the girls team from Bishop Canevin.

The CV boys (13-3, 9-1 as of Oct. 12), meanwhile, enter the playoffs as one of Class AAA's hottest — and stingiest — teams. Two days after blanking South Fayette, the Colts extended their shutout streak to six with a 2-0 win over Upper St. Clair in a nonsection match.

Last season, the Colts, led by then-senior Sean Tinney, drew high praise for their offense. But, coach Garrett Mackenzie said, defense always has been an important part of his team's formula.

“We do play defense first,” Mackenzie said, “it just so happens we've had some pretty good attackers in previous years.”

The defense is anchored by an all-senior back line that includes Johnny Henderson, Baxter Eckenrode, John Uher, Lennon Zrimsek and Matt Dyczewski. The group has played together for years and developed a collective shut-down mentality.

“Our whole defensive mindset is the same,” Eckenrode said. “We play hard and tough. If you let up zero goals, the worst you can do is tie.”

Having a veteran back line was even more critical this season after losing all-section keeper Caleb Zajicek to graduation. James Moore was brought in, essentially, off the street by Eckenrode and some of the other seniors.

Moore had some experience in travel ball but not at the varsity level. His defense does its best to limit the number of saves he has to make, but, Henderson said, they have the utmost confidence in him.

“I defend as if he's the best goalie in the world,” he said. “I don't even think about him back there, to be honest. I've seen plenty of guys who have trained as goalies, and he makes saves better than any of them could make.”

Added Eckenrode: “He's really a natural. Some of the soccer IQ stuff he's still learning, but he's picking it up. Now he navigates the defense, and if we miss a mark, he lets us know.”

After yielding three goals to Seneca Valley in the season opener and four to Peters Township in the third match, Moore and the Colts gave up only five combined over the next 13 matches, going 12-1 in that stretch, which also includes the current seven-match winning streak.

Eckenrode said the Colts' current roll reminds him of the way the team entered the postseason in 2016. Chartiers Valley rode an eight-match regular-season winning streak into the Class AAA playoffs last fall and continued winning all the way to the state quarterfinals. As of Oct. 12, the Colts had a chance to finish the regular season on another eight-game run, pending the outcome of their final match against nonsection foe Seton LaSalle, which was not completed before this edition.

With his new goalie comfortable and his veteran defense clicking, Mackenzie is confident the Colts can make another run at a title.

“Last year, we gave up one goal in the WPIAL playoffs,” he said. “If we take a look at where our success came from … we scored some goals, but we also kept teams out of the net.

“I feel like we're prepared, and we're rather healthy. I feel like we're in a good position.”

Chuck Curti is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at ccurti@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CCurti_Trib.

Tags: Chartiers Valley