St. Francis Prep’s Kenny Redzematovic gave his team a 1-0 lead in the 32nd minute. (Denis Gostev)
Franco Purificato was much more nervous than usual coming in. His St. Francis Prep team was the heavy favorite against Christ the King, but the Royals worried him. They had nothing to lose, play an attacking style and are very well coached.
“I didn’t teach all day,” joked Purificato, who teaches social studies at St. Francis. “I put on movies all day. I wrote the lineup down 200 times today and I always knew I was going with the same one I always have anyway.”
His team shared those jitters early on, but the Terriers emerged from the doldrums after Kenny Redzematovic’s goal from Chris Joseph in the 32nd minute. From there, St. Francis Prep cruised to a 3-0 win over Christ the King in the CHSAA Class AA intersectional boys soccer semifinals Friday night at St. John’s University’s Belson Stadium.
“There was no way we were gonna get beat from there,” Redzematovic said about going up 1-0.
His tally came 11 minutes after Christ the King forward Andres Brock collided with Joey LoBosco near the top of the 18-yard box and went down hard. Brock, who scored in the quarterfinals against Iona Prep, got up initially, but dropped down again. An ambulance was called and, after a 20-minute delay, he was carted off the field on a stretcher.
CK coach Ovid Cusu said later Friday night that Brock had fractured his sternum. Minutes later, Christ the King star midfielder Peyton Atteloney injured his ankle and he too left the game.
“God did not give us a fighting chance,” Cusu said. … “You can’t compete against Prep like that.”
The Royals (9-6-3) were a wounded animal after that, either very dangerous or significantly weakened.
“It could force them forward or it could draw them back,” Redzematovic said. “You don’t know what to expect.”
His goal definitely dampened the spirits of a team that had never been to the ‘AA’ semifinals. St. Francis Prep (16-0-1) is a wily veteran, a regular at Belson Stadium. That experience took over in the second half. Joseph scored off a Jason Gonzalez assist in the 65th minute and Gonzalez sealed it with a goal of his own in the 70th minute. SFP will be back at St. John’s for the final 3 p.m. Sunday against Fordham Prep after falling to Iona last season.
“Last year I wasn’t nervous at all,” Purificato said. “I think this group is a group I really want to see something happen with.”
It didn’t get off to a great start. Star sweeper Christian Molano’s second-minute penalty kick was saved impressively by CK keeper Christian Nolasco, who also had a beautiful sliding save against Redzematovic in the seventh minute. Christ the King, with its possession style, brought the attack right to the city title favorite.
“The pressure was all on us,” Joseph said. “We definitely felt just being here, big crowd, fans. It got a little bit to us in the first half.”
It was only temporary, though. St. Francis Prep is now where it’s supposed to be, where it was expected to be last year, too: playing for an intersectional title.
“I’ve been here before,” Redzematovic. “I’ve played big games. We’ve all played big games – every one of our players. We’ve played bigger games than this. This should have been nothing for us, nothing on our backs. We are the favorites coming in. We know what we need to do and that was it.”
