Panthers run away from Alleman

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By Jon Gremmels | Thursday, October 19, 2006 12:48 AM CDT | () comments

United Township is built on speed, and the Panthers used it to a huge advantage in defeating Rock Island Alleman 6-0 in the semifinals round of the Illinois Class AA soccer regional Wednesday evening at the Panther Pitch.

“It is a track meet when we play as good of ball as we did,” said junior forward Josh Pope, who had a pair of goals for United Township.

“That’s kind of the way we execute,” said Panthers senior midfielder Jon Sandoval, who had a goal and two assists. “We have a lot of good speed up top. We get the ball up to the midfielders, and they do the rest.”

The win put the Panthers in Saturday’s 11 a.m. regional final, where they will host Moline, which beat Rock Island 3-1.

Besides being quick on the field, the Panthers (15-7-2) were quick to score, too. They needed just 1 minute, 15 seconds to score.

Pope took a pass from Eric Dhooge as he slipped past the defense, then beat goalkeeper Nick Goodknight, who came out to defend, and put in a shot from about 12 yards.

Pope assisted on the second goal, in the 10th minute, and it might have been the backbreaker.

“It’s always big to get the second goal,” Sandoval sald. “It kind of put them away, but they didn’t quit.”

Sandoval scored from point-blank range after Pope dribbled in on the left side, cut toward the goal along the goal line and found Sandoval open.

Before the half was over, Seth Castel, Brandon Widlick and Marcos Moreno added goals for the Panthers.

“I think the lads played the conditions well,” United Township coach Phil Weaver said. It rained throughout much of the game, making for a slippery field. “That was our advantage because of our speed. The guys did a good job with that, which you could see by the breakaway opportunities.”

Alleman finished the season 3-15-3.

“They’re fast and do a good job of moving the ball around,” Alleman coach Greg Zeller said.

Jon Gremmels can be contacted at (563) 383-2294 or at jgremmels@qctimes.com.