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Dynamic duo helps L-town boys continue
Moving on
Friday, Nov. 6, 2009
 Click here to enlarge this photo Staff photo by REID SILVERMAN
Leonardtown's Chris Jones, left, celebrates his first-half goal.
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If the soccer field is a music sheet, the actual game is a symphony and every goal scored is a masterpiece, then consider Leonardtown boys soccer players Chris Jones and Brendan Powell masterful composers.
In Tuesday night's Class 4A East region quarterfinal contest against the visiting No. 10 seed Arundel Wildcats, Jones scored two goals for No. 2 seed Leonardtown (12-1 overall) and Powell knocked in a goal of his own in leading the Raiders to a 3-0 victory and a trip into the semifinal round.
Just about halfway through the opening half, Powell took a pass from Jones, raced up the sidelines and crossed it back to Jones, who then leapt and headed it in to give the Raiders a 1-0 lead.
Only two minutes later, Jones notched his second goal of the game to give Leonardtown a 2-0 lead, which it would hold going into the half.
"When I passed the ball to Brendan, I stood there," Jones said, "and I knew he was going to cross it back to me and I headed it in. When I headed it in I lifted my shirt [that read Team JP] in honor of [senior] Jordan Paganelli. He is a survivor of cancer, but it has come back, lately, so we are dedicating this to him. … This is all for ‘JP.'"
"Chris and I talked about the intensity we needed to come out with tonight to match [Arundel's]," Powell said. "It was good to get on the board early. … I got the ball in the corner and I knew if I got topside that Chris would be in there, and it worked out."
Less than 10 minutes into the second half, Powell added his goal to give the contest its final score.
"It was good that I got one in," Powell said, jokingly, "because Chris got two, and I am trying to keep up with him."
Leonardtown head coach Matt Reber has noticed the combination of Powell and Jones coming on strong in recent weeks.
"They are a great combination," Reber said of the two. "Brendan has great foot skills and Chris has great foot skills, and they are definitely connecting more. … They did not connect all year like we thought they might have, but they have connected a lot more through the end of the year, definitely."
Arundel advanced to the second round contest against the Raiders after a 1-0 victory over Great Mills last Thursday. Arundel goalie Ryan Bagley had three saves.
Leonardtown faced Severna Park in the semifinals, a Severna Park team that has, by all accounts, been a thorn in Leonardtown's season ending the Raiders' season each of the past two seasons. However, confidence is high heading into the contest, which was scheduled for Thursday evening, too late for inclusion into this edition.
"It feels good to come out here tonight and get this win tonight just sends a message to the Anne Arundel teams that we can compete with them," Powell said.
"I think this win is huge," Reber said. "It wasn't one of those soccer games in which we came away with a 1-0 win. We showed that we can do some things on the soccer field, and I think that is big for the psyche of the kids. … I think that is a good thing to have going up against Severna Park."
Tuesday night's contest was played at Chopticon High School due to bad field conditions at Leonardtown.
