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St. Mary's ousted from playoffs Photo by Drew Fleming St. Mary's A.J. Schultz, left, and Catlin Gabel's Nathan Krishnamurthy provide heads-up play. Controversial goals lead to 2-0 Eagles win By DON HUNT St. Mary's High goalie Andrew Lunt had allowed only three goals in 14 matches entering Saturday's Class 3A-2A-1A state quarterfinal soccer playoff against Catlin Gabel. Lunt made seven saves against the perennial state power on an uncommonly warm November afternoon at St. Mary's High. But Catlin Gabel striker Josh Duyan thumped one goal into the left corner of the net in the first half and blasted home another on a penalty kick in the second half to lead the Eagles to a 2-0 victory. Both goals were controversial, however, and Lunt felt neither should have gone into the books. "I can accept losing, but not like this," Lunt said. "Their guys kept taking dives the whole match and we got penalized for it." The Crusaders contended that Duyan flopped to the ground -- acting as though he was knocked down -- in the box after making contact with St. Mary's sweeper Brandon Frankel. That led to Duyan's penalty kick with nine minutes remaining in the match. Lunt made a spectacular save of Duyan's initial penalty kick, but the ball ricocheted right back to the Catlin Gabel player, and he converted the goal on the second time around. The penalty kick was the crushing blow to the Crusaders, who finished their season with a 12-3 record. "Our sweeper (Frankel) took the ball away from him (Duyan) and was dribbling up the field when we all heard a whistle," Lunt said. "There's no way that was a foul, but that guy (Duyan) kept flopping until he got a call." Frankel acquired a yellow card for arguing the penalty, and Lunt charged after the referee and had to be restrained by his teammates. Catlin Gabel's first goal was also a point of contention as St. Mary's accused Duyan of shoving Crusaders fullback Jordan Frankel an instant before scoring. The linesmen and the referee huddled for several minutes before allowing the goal. But while both scores were controversial, there was no guarantee St. Mary's would have won, anyway. The Crusaders failed to mount much of an offense -- they were outshot 16-7 -- and were shut out for just the second time this season. "We didn't accomplish much on the offensive end," acknowledged St. Mary's coach Eric Wolff. "Their defenders were quick to the ball and we had a hard time keeping possession." The Crusaders' best chances to score came in the 30th minute when Peter Staver tomahawked a header from 30 yards out that went wide, and in the 48th minute when A.J. Schultz headed the ball toward the goal off a corner kick only to watch a Catlin Gabel player head it over the crossbar. St. Mary's had three straight corner kick opportunities that went astray in the second half. "We got a couple of breaks and took advantage of them," said Catlin Gabel coach Mike Davis, whose teams have won seven state championships in his 13 seasons at the Portland school. Davis was relieved when Duyan hit the penalty kick. "Being ahead 1-nil on a field like this is no reason to feel secure," Davis said. "This is a small field, a football field, and it's pretty bumpy. Anything can happen. "It was difficult to establish a possession game. We just kept hitting the ball long and hoped for a lucky bounce." Catlin Gabel is now 7-4-4 on the season, with all of its losses coming against bigger schools. The Eagles will meet Marist on Tuesday in the semifinals. Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, OR U.S.A.