Cardinal Newman’s Thomas Touma and Koty Millard converge on Bishop England’s Brian Byrne. Photo by Mike Maddock Just under five minutes into Cardinal Newman’s Palmetto Cup second round match with Bishop England Thursday, April 8, it looked like the Cardinals would seize the early momentum. Koty Millard had already taken one shot before Jonathan Cleary’s direct kick from near midfield slipped through Bishop England goalkeeper Ross Rodgers’s hands and bounced off the crossbar then in front of the goal before Rodgers finally gained control. Less than a minute later, Bishop England’s Brian Byrne crossed a pass to Ruslan Olbrych who punched it in to give the Bishops a 1–0 lead and all the momentum. They would go on to win 3–1.

The Bishops would rattle off four more shots before Cardinal Newman’s Nick O’Rourke would get fouled in the box by Rodgers drawing a yellow card and a penalty kick at the 15:55 mark of the first half. The yellow card forced the Bishops to substitute goalkeepers, and Brandon Costa stepped in. He promptly dove right to stop Joey Schiano’s kick then dove from the ground to deflect Schiano’s rebound shot. On the ensuing corner kick, O’Rourke headed in a shot, but a controversial offside call by the head referee nullified the goal.

The Bishops took a 2–0 lead in the 27th minute when some confusion in the Cardinal defense gave Bishop England’s Michael Masciale the ball in front of the goal. He dribbled twice then punched it in to give the Bishops a seemingly insurmountable lead. A meeting of the minds. Bishop England’s James Baldwin and Cardinal Newman’s Nick O’Rourke collide going for a header at day two of the 2010 Palmetto Cup held at Brookland–Cayce High School April 7 – April 11. Bishop England won 3–1. Photo by Jim Marczesky

Still, the Cardinals had opportunities, but Cleary’s direct kick 20 yards outside the box in the 29th minute sailed harmlessly over the goal. Another header from O’Rourke in the 36th minute barely missed to the right, and then Cleary’s goal during stoppage time was nullified by another offside call. Rodgers was able to stop one more shot from Millard with seconds remaining in the half.

Cardinal Newman struck fast in the 41st minute of play just after halftime when O’Rourke collected a perfectly placed indirect kick from Cleary in the front of the Bishop England goal and punched it in to close the gap to 2–1. The Cardinals were not able to generate anything from a corner kick or a direct kick from just outside the box, and the Bishops maintained consistent pressure. After narrowly missing a shot in the 52nd minute, Olbrych got his second goal when Cunningham came out to try and collect a loose ball. Instead, the Bishops controlled it, and Olbrych scored easily.