Pressure and control.

In soccer, the team that often applies the most pressure in the opposing team’s defensive zone will control the game. On Wednesday, in a Schuylkill League Division 1 battle between Jim Thorpe and Tamaqua, it was the Olympians who were able to both perform under pressure and apply it.

With a chance to clinch the division title, Thorpe (13-2-2, 11-2-1 SL Division 1) did not have a letdown, defeating the Raiders 2-1 to clinch the division and a spot in the Schuylkill League playoffs.

From the onset, the Olympians were aggressive in attacking the Tamaqua defense. After squandering some early opportunities in the first half, Thorpe was finally able to put one through on a Chris Condly score off a Jack Morris assist with 14:59 remaining in the first half.

With the constant pressure applied early by the Olympians’ offense, especially with Thorpe’s players upfront, it was only a matter of time before it was they were able to convert.

“The group I play upfront, they’ve been playing together a long time; they’ve played a lot of soccer together,” said JT head coach Mike Dudak. “You can just see the chemistry they have, and I trust them to do their job. A lot of those guys, I coached them when they were younger and they’ve worked hard and continue to get better.”

The Olympians were able to continue to pressure Tamaqua through the rest of the first half, which resulted in their second goal of the afternoon. Leo Ramirez put together a fantastic dribbling display from midfield, taking the ball all the way into the scoring area, shooting and putting the ball into the left side of the net.

Ramirez was almost artistic with the way he dribbled the ball, and controlled the middle of the field.

“I really enjoy the challenge of taking on players, making them miss and then making passes to my teammates,” said Ramirez. “On the scoring play, I got a great ball from my teammate and I felt like I had momentum. I didn’t think I was going to go all the way, but I was able to get by their defense and put the ball in the back of the net.”

In the second half, the Raiders (10-8) made some adjustments and were able to slow down the Olympians offensive attack. Tamaqua even made things interesting late in the second when they were able to convert a penalty kick from Nathanial Noftz with 2:15 remaining.

“In the first half, they were definitely able to control the ball. They dropped their forward back, and he was able to turn without any pressure, and that’s what gave them so many opportunities,” said Tamaqua head coach Greg Sheeler. “We made some adjustments at half, and we were able to control the ball more in their defensive territory. We had a couple starters out today; that really hurt us I think, but we won the second half, and I was proud of our effort.”

Thorpe was able to keep the Raiders from mounting any serious scoring attacks in the last two minutes to come away with the win.

LEAGUE PLAYOFFS

... Division 1 champion Jim Thorpe will take on Division 2 wildcard Tri-Valley on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Lehighton.

ATTACK MODE

... The Olympians were able to pile up the shots on goal with 25, while holding the Raiders to just seven.