Romeo, Dakota clinch spots in district championship after Wednesday wins

Romeo and Dakota are no strangers to each other, facing off two times during Macomb Area Conference Red Division play, which both ended in wins for the Bulldogs.

The two teams will lock horns for a third time on Friday in the Division 1 District 16 championship game after both teams won their respective district semifinal matches on Wednesday night at Dakota.

Romeo needed a goal by Anthony Ellas with 1:09 to play to defeat Anchor Bay 2-1 in their contest before Dakota blanked L'Anse Creuse North 3-0 in the semifinal nightcap.

"I'm excited," Romeo coach Vinnie Vasilevski said. "Playing Dakota will be our third time this season after playing them twice in the MAC Red. They're going to bring intensity and be ready for them."

Dakota coach Stefano Moraccini said his team will be ready to face the Bulldogs.

"We didn't fare so well losing both games to Romeo this season," Moraccini said. "We've made some changes and moved some people around. Hopefully, that comes to help us. You never know what tomorrow will bring. I know Romeo will come out hard."

Romeo started strong against Anchor Bay, taking a 1-0 lead eight minutes into the match when Patrik Camaj scored off a corner kick by teammate Brayden Burke, who earned the assist.

"Romeo put us on our heels early on and there's a reason why they're the No. 1 seed in the district," Anchor Bay coach Nathan Williams said. "We weathered the storm and we had our chances in the second half."

The Tars evened the game at 1-1 with 26:21 left in the second half when Jake Stein scored on a header off a crossing pass by Caiman Collins.

"Romeo got us on a corner, and we knew we could get them on a restart," Williams said. "Momentum swung our way after that goal. We had some opportunities and that's something we'll have to grow on."

The Bulldogs capitalized on a 25 yard free kick opportunity which Burke ripped for a shot that was stopped by Tar goalie Jakob Arnold, but the ball bounced off his hands right the foot of Ellas who knocked it into the net on the rebound.

"Burke took the shot on the free kick and the goalie made a nice save," Vasilevski said. "Anthony was right there and that was his 25th goal on the season. He finds a way to score every game it seems to help us out."

Romeo goalkeeper Ethan Huffman made three saves in the win, which improved the Bulldogs' record to 13-4-2 overall.

"It was a thriller," Vasileveski said. "I told the boys at half that every year a senior is playing his last game, and there was a 15 minute span in the second half when Anchor Bay did. I told them it was going to happen. It doesn't matter if you're winning or losing, there are going to be spans when you're uncomfortable."

Arnold had a solid game in goal for Anchor Bay, making 14 saves.

"Jake's a great goalkeeper and great leader," Williams said. "He's solid technically and knows the game so well. He's only a junior and one of our captains, and he showed why. He played his butt off today."

The loss ended the Tars' season at 7-9-3 overall.

"Romeo's a good team and we had to fend off a lot of attacks by them," Williams said. "I'm proud of my boys. They showed the resilience that they showed all year. We've had a lot of one-goal losses this year, but they have responded every time."

In the second semifinal contest, Dakota raced to a quick 2-0 lead and never looked back, defeating the Crusaders.

The Cougars scored 16 minutes into the match when Christian Dedvukovic scored on a penalty kick. Dakota increased its lead to 2-0 just two minutes later when Liam Ciaciuch scored off an assist by Leon Dawood.

"The second goal was a great assist from Leon," Moraccini said. "He was very unselfish as he had his back to the goal and saw Liam open for an easy pass, laid if off to him and Liam put the ball into the back of the net. It was fantastic."

Sabanovic said the 2-0 deficit put his squad into a big hole to climb out of.

"When you give up two goals in the first 15 minutes or so, it's a big hill to climb," Sabanovic said. "I'm very proud of the boys for their effort. They finished the game with pride and I am proud of the boys for a great year."

Dakota added an insurance goal in the second half when Brent Newton blistered a free kick into the net from 30-yards out with 14:52 to play.

"Dakota is very strong physically and very technical," Sabanovic said. "You have to give them credit. We had to play a different style because of the competition, and we kept them at bay. We stepped up the intensity in the second half to Dakota's level a little bit. That's the next step for us."

Cougar netminder Cross Anoya made three saves in the shutout, which improved the Cougars' record to 9-7-2 overall. Moraccini said he was pleased that his team kept up the intensity level throughout the entire match.

"The game is 80 minutes long," Moraccini said. "I told the boys at halftime that L'Anse Creuse North was going to come out hard in the second half. They are a hard-working team. Hats off to them."

LCN, which ended its season at 11-5-3 overall, was led by goalie Arber Ljajcaj, who made four saves in the contest.

"They're young and learning how to compete at a high level like this," said Sabanovic, whose team competed in the MAC Blue this season. "We had some great games this year against higher level competition that showed that we're making progress."

The Romeo versus Dakota district championship game will start at 5 p.m. at Dakota on Friday night.