Perry Hall-Catonsville soccer

Perry Hall's Kyle Smith, front, and Catonsville's Daniel Kim vie for the ball in the Comets'2-1 victory Monday. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun photo / September 24, 2012)

By Tom Worgo, Baltimore Sun Media Group

September 25, 2012 | 9:29 a.m.
Beating Catonsville used to be a given for Perry Hall, considering the Gators won the last 12 matches between the Baltimore County rivals until the Comets snapped the streak in 2011.

On Monday, No. 11 Catonsville (5-1) proved that victory was no fluke by taking a 2-1 victory over the No. 12 Gators.

Senior Jose Moran and sophomore Daniel Kim scored for the defending County champs.
"Like" explorebaltimorecounty's Facebook page


"It was a big win for us," Catonsville coach Vic Vega said. "You have to take pride in what you accomplished. Perry Hall is one of the class teams in the area. It¹s a big confidence boost for the kids going forward."

Perry Hall had to play a man-down for the final 20 minutes after a Gator player received a second yellow card.

Despite that inconvenience, the Gators trimmed the lead to 2-1 in the 70th minute when Nicky Jones intercepted a failed clear near the goal line and knocked the ball into the left corner.

However, that was the last time Perry Hall (4-2-1) broke through against a tenacious Catonsville backline.

"Our defense won it for us at the end," said Vega, noting the play of backs Willam Johnson, Osama Khan and Andrew Carlson. "They were putting some pressure on us in the last five minutes. We bent, but we didn't break. It wasn't pretty. The main thing was keeping the goal clear."

Catonsville spurted ahead, 1-0, in the ninth minute on Jose Moran's 25-yard direct kick that went out over a wall of defenders to the right corner to elude goalkeeper Austin Kroll.

Kroll made a nice play in the 23rd minute, though, rushing out of the goal to knock the ball away from Emmanuel Amihere on a breakaway.

Moran had another excellent chance to score in the 35th minute until Perry Hall defender Jason Stump caught him from behind and disrupted the opportunity.

Moran hurt his ankle on the play and had to sit out for most of the game. Then Kim converted a penalty shot in the 37th minute, beating beat Kroll to the right corner for the Comets' other goal.

Perry Hall threatened to score in the 53rd minute when Jones' attempt from the corner of the box went wide and Rob Allman's 15-yard blast also missed.

"We did not finish our opportunities," said Perry Hall coach Pete Eibner, whose team held a 15-9 advantage in shots. "We did a good job of possessing the ball and attacking. We knocked five balls across the box. You have to convert those, and we didn't."