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Sports

Bayless Gets Eighth Straight Win in Upset Over Trinity

Unranked Bronchos score two magnificent goals in thrilling 2-1 win over No. 6 powerhouse Trinity Catholic.

SPANISH LAKE – Amongst the goals it set for itself heading into the 2011 soccer season, the Bayless Bronchos want to win the conference and district championships just as they did last year.

They Bronchos also want to prove themselves serious contenders for the state title again, after a bitter loss knocked them out of contention earlier than expected last year.

On Monday night though, those ultimate season goals took a backseat to a hopeful, one-night achievement the Bayless squad has been striving for since preseason practice began back in August.

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The Bronchos wanted to finally get a win against North County rival and perennial state championship contender Trinity Catholic High of Spanish Lake.

“We haven’t beat those guys since I’ve been here,” said Bayless coach Dave Pozzo, who is in his fourth season with the Bronchos program and his first as head coach. “The previous years, we’ve been right in the games. And like last year, we gave up two goals in the final minute. So it’s been right within our grasp, we just haven’t been able to get over that hump.”

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That finally changed Monday night, as Bayless, behind two fabulous first-half goals was able to hold off Trinity Catholic with a brilliant bit of second-half defense for a thrilling 2-1 win.

“It was a great game, very exciting,” Pozzo said. “We’ve got some playmakers on the team, but to see them go out and tackle and win balls when they needed to was really exciting.”

Junior striker Fazlo Alihodzic netted the game-winner for the Bronchos just before halftime, when he put away a corner kick by teammate Demir Tankosic with a header that found the far corner of the Trinity net.

“The great thing about Fazlo is he gets chances, and he can bury them,” Pozzo said, “but he can also create for himself too. And we were down one of our center-mids. So that’s another thing too. He can handle the load if we need him to.”

The goal was Alihodzic’s team-leading eighth of the season, and gave Bayless the lead after it had fallen behind 1-0 on a similar corner kick goal by Trinity’s Mike Thiemet.

Bayless tied the score in the 18th minute on a sensational play by junior Adis Sahbaz, who outran a Trinity defender to a loose ball that seemed headed out of bounds.

Sahbaz managed to save the ball to himself and faked out the Trinity defender before racing to the right side of the Trinity net for a one-on-one chance with goalkeeper Jeremiah Cooper.

Sahbaz surprised Cooper with a pass to teammate Edmir Oric, who blasted a shot home for his fourth goal of the year.

“Adis just made a great play there,” Pozzo said. “And that pass was perfect. It was just a great goal by both guys, great play by them both.”

Trinity tried to turn up the pressure in the second half, and nearly tied the score on several occasions. But each time a Bayless defender was in the right place at the right time.

“They have that kid that can throw the ball in from like 40 yards out, so every one of them was a good chance,” Pozzo said. “We had to clear two balls off our (goalline), and they had a bunch of corners. It was exciting.”

The victory was Bayless’ eighth straight win, lifting the Bronchos record to 9-2-1 this season with three more games scheduled for this week.

On Tuesday, Bayless will be back at Trinity Catholic with a matchup against St. Charles West at 5 p.m., in the second round of the Trinity Classic.

And on Thursday, the Bronchos will play their final game in Trinity’s annual tournament, another 5 p.m. contest against University City.

On Friday, Bayless will be back at home with a South Central Athletic Association league game against Maplewood at 4 p.m.

Scoring Summary

First Half

TC: Mike Thiemet (6), assisted by Tom Koerper; 33:47

Bay: Edmir Oric (4), assisted by Adis Sahbaz; 23:19

Bay: Fazlo Alihodzic (8), assisted by Demir Tankosic; 5:08

Second Half

No scoring.

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