By Michael Lindsay
The #2-seed DeKalb County Tigers secured a District 6/AA championship game and region tournament berth Tuesday evening as they defeated Stone Memorial in the semifinal round, 2-1.
“It was a tough game,” said DeKalb County head coach Dylan Kleparek. “We beat them handily pretty early in the year, but I knew they had a lot of potential and good scoring opportunities. Our guys played hard and did well, and I’ll give props to Stone. They came out and played hard and put everything they had into it.”
Tuesday’s game was a change of pace for DeKalb County, who averages over 6 goals per game in district play.
“We train physically in practice because these games turn into this sometimes and we have to be ready for it,” Kleparek said.
It was Stone Memorial who struck first as Kevin Manning found the back of the net with 22:36 remaining in the first half to give the Panthers a 1-0 lead.
DeKalb County answered with 10:21 remaining until halftime as Miguel Mada scored off a Cameron Miller assist to tie the game at 1.
“We saw something on film,” Kleparek said. “It was a quick pass in and we made a break on the line. We played back out wide and he one-timed it in on the return pass. It was pretty nice.”
Neither team scored again in the first half as they entered halftime tied at 1-1.
DeKalb County broke through to score the game-winning goal with 23:43 remaining as Ryder Miller chested a ball into the net off a corner kick to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead.
Keeper Conner Vance and the Tiger defense kept Stone Memorial at bay for the rest of the contest as DeKalb County closed out to win 2-1.
“Miguel Mada has really stepped it up; he got the goal off the one touch,” Kleparek said. “He’s playing hard. I thought Jonathan Zavala made some really good passes, and Emilio Garcia here on the left ran down their guys several times. He’s got speed and that saved us. We had some outstanding performances across the board.”
DeKalb County will face Cumberland County in Thursday’s District 6/AA championship game and has automatically qualified for the Region 3/AA tournament semifinals.
“It’s a big deal; our district is tough and we have some teams that can upset you at any time,” Kleparek said. “We have to play with some confidence against Cumberland County. They’re a strong team and they’ve had our number twice this year. We’ve got to go get one.
“Looking at the region, it’s Clinton and Kingston over there,” he added. “Hopefully, we can get the win and play at home. Either way, this locks in 2 more.”
