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Sunday, April 30, 2000 By Ray Fittipaldo, Post-Gazette Sports Writer
Penalty kicks are almost a sure thing in soccer. So when John Jones missed one in the second overtime period of last night's A-League opener against the Toronto Lynx, it left Jones, the coaching staff and the 4,223 in attendance at Bethel Park High School shocked and dismayed.
Despite outshooting the Lynx and twice as many scoring opportunities, the Riverhounds had to settle for a 1-1 tie.
"I can't remember the last time I missed a penalty kick," Jones said.
The penalty kick was awarded when Jones was taken down in front of the Toronto net. Anyone on the team can take a penalty kick. Tenywa "T-Bone" Bonseu converted a penalty kick in the 69th minute for a 1-0 lead.
"I asked T-Bone why didn't he take the penalty kick," said assistant coach Paul Child. "He said he didn't feel comfortable because he had already taken one, and he thought the goalkeeper knew what he was going to do."
Jones' attempt went straight in on goalkeeper Theo Zagar.
"I wanted to keep it low and in the corner," said Jones, a defender. "But I hit it toward the middle instead. It was a mishit."
Coach John Kowalski, who is missing four starters because of injuries and other contractual obligations, said his players "choked" when they had good opportunities.
"We did a good job on defense, but when we had the ball in the attacking area, we choked," Kowalski said. "When we did create opportunities in front, we didn't finish. We played rather complacent."
Riverhounds midfielder Jaman Tripoli was tackled by Lloyd Barker in close on Zagar, giving Bonseu a penalty kick.
Zagar guessed wrong on the penalty kick, and Bonseu booted one up high and in the left corner for what turned out to be a short-lived lead.
The Lynx came right back and put pressure on the Riverhounds. Lynx midfielder David Diplacido got a loose ball in close and kicked it past goalkeeper Randy Dedini to tie it.
The Riverhounds had three opportunities to win the game late, but they couldn't convert. In the 86th minute, Tripoli made a nifty move to free himself in the slot, but his attempt was wide left.
The Riverhounds had two more opportunities during two minutes of injury time. Joenal Catsma, a late substitution, had an open net to work with, but his lofted header landed on top of the net. Jones, another late substitution, had some room in the slot, but his hard kick sailed wide left.
Last season, tie games at the end of regulation went to shootouts. But the A-League instituted two, 10-minute overtime periods this season.
During the ninth minute of the first overtime period, the Riverhounds thought they scored the winning goal off a corner kick. Jones deflected it in front, and it slowly made its way toward the goal line before a Toronto defender kicked it away.
Two minutes into the second overtime period, Jones was awarded the penalty kick.
Toronto had the final quality scoring opportunity a few minutes later. Diplacido set up Francisco Dos Santos on an odd-man break, but Dos Santos' attempt to the wide side just missed.
"The physical effort was there, but we didn't have a combination with the mental effort," Kowalski said. "We weren't on the same page. We have some work to do."
NOTES -- The Riverhounds signed forward Leidy Klotz, a senior at Lafayette College, to a two-year contract. ... Forward Phil Karn, the team's leading scorer last season, will miss another 10 days with a hairline fracture in his left foot. The injury was originally diagnosed as a sprain. ... The Riverhounds play host to the Montreal Impact Saturday.
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