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Anthony Hunter, Tre Ming, Tahj Bell, Shaquille and Shakhai Trott's South Kent advanced to the New England semi-final with a commanding 2-0 win over Williston Northampton in the quarterfinal match at The Forman School.
From the beginning of the match South Kent looked to press a defensive and well organized Williston team. Typically faced with nine men behind the ball South Kent had trouble breaking through. Several crosses from Marco Bordon, Hunter, and Jordan Obrant could not find their target.
The two best scoring opportunities of the first half came on long range shots. Bernardo Ulmo forced goalkeeper Tarek Dahdul to parry his 35 yard blast over the bar for a corner kick. Fabio Pereira came closest to scoring when Dahdul barely tipped his drive onto the far post. Williston had one good opportunity in the first half when Yondo Nyadjroh got on the end of a free kick from midfield but could not get his shot on target.
The second half saw South Kent determined to break through. Ian Ross made a spectacular move beating two players in the box before Dahdul smothered his close range effort. In the 52 minute a Ross corner kick would get deflected in the box before Sal Borea could poke it home for the 1-0 lead.
Playing with the lead seemed to suit the Cardinals, they continued to look for goals as Williston had to open up and press for an equalizer. Insurance would come on a Pereira cross to Hunter who beat his defender to the front post and volleyed home for a 2-0 advantage. Williston would create a couple chances late in the match but Captain Bell would make all the saves to earn his eighth shutout of the year.
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