The Avery soccer team continued its winning ways last week with a pair of Western Highlands Conference wins over local rivals Mountain Heritage and Mitchell.
On a wet and cool evening last Monday, September 27, the Vikings hosted Mountain Heritage and came away with a hard-fought 2-1 win.
Avery drew first blood in the 28th minute of the match, when Jorge Arreola scored off an assist from Isauro Estrada, staking the Vikings to a 1-0 lead. The Big Red defense made the lead hold up for the rest of the half.
“We started out the Heritage game playing real well...we had our offense back in the passing mode, and doing a good job of it. What they weren’t doing effectively was finishing,” Vikings head coach Tom Evaul said following the match. “We had quite a few opportunities to score several goals, but didn’t put the ball where it needed to go. That is probably what frustrated me the most about the first half of play. Our defense was its usual stingy group, playing consistently and with intensity throughout the half.”
In the second half the Cougars came out with great intensity and desire in an effort to net the equalizer to tie the match. The tying goal came for Heritage in the 48th minute as a shot slipped past Viking keeper Alex Magner to knot the match at one goal apiece.
“Heritage tied the score early in the second half because we weren’t playing a ‘control the ball’ game,” Evaul added. “The thing I'm trying to get through to the guys is that if they will maintain a passing game instead of a just kick the ball game, we lower the chances of another team scoring on us. When Heritage scored, our intensity dropped, while theirs picked up. We went into a playing lull which gave Heritage several opportunities against Alex.”
The match remained tied until the 70th minute, when Arreola scored off an assist from Daniel Lusk to give the lead back to Avery. From that point, the defense stepped up to hold the Cougars scoreless and preserve the one-goal victory.
“I think the key to our success in games depends on how focused and intense the offense stays. If those six guys get out of sync with themselves and with each other, and decide to play their own style of soccer as opposed to a team-oriented game, then we struggle,” Evaul explained after the win. “Our defense is playing consistent soccer, the kind I wish the offense would play. They are communicating, backing each other up, being positive with each other even when mistakes are made, they stay intense and focused the entire game. Therefore, our defense has done a good job of denying goals to opponents. With the exception of the Hendersonville and West Caldwell games, teams are averaging less than a goal per game thanks to the defense.”
In the match on Wednesday, September 29, Avery had to deal with both rival Mitchell and the elements at Memorial Stadium in Ledger. The teams had to deal with a wet field and steady rain throughout much of the match, making the pitch quite unpredictable. Avery came up big in the match, winning 3-1 in a match that was called after 60 minutes due to the field conditions.
Lusk scored a pair of goals and Arreola netted his third goal for the week. Heraclio Flores, Forrest Sickler and Lusk provided assists on the goals. Mitchell’s lone goal came off a penalty kick.
“The team did seem to play a more consistent game with more intensity than they did with Heritage. If the offense decides they are going to play as a team, and get an effective passing game going, we can be successful, and they maintained both of those throughout the game,” Evaul stated after the win.
Avery’s record stands at 10-3-2 for the season, with a key match on the schedule coming up on Wednesday, October 6, at Owen High School.
“The upcoming Owen match is a key match for us. We didn’t play our best game against them at home, which hurts because I know we could have beaten them had we played the type of game we played against Patton or Madison,” Evaul said. “That consistency is something we are going to have to work on for the remainder of the season if we want to be successful.”
On a wet and cool evening last Monday, September 27, the Vikings hosted Mountain Heritage and came away with a hard-fought 2-1 win.
Avery drew first blood in the 28th minute of the match, when Jorge Arreola scored off an assist from Isauro Estrada, staking the Vikings to a 1-0 lead. The Big Red defense made the lead hold up for the rest of the half.
“We started out the Heritage game playing real well...we had our offense back in the passing mode, and doing a good job of it. What they weren’t doing effectively was finishing,” Vikings head coach Tom Evaul said following the match. “We had quite a few opportunities to score several goals, but didn’t put the ball where it needed to go. That is probably what frustrated me the most about the first half of play. Our defense was its usual stingy group, playing consistently and with intensity throughout the half.”
In the second half the Cougars came out with great intensity and desire in an effort to net the equalizer to tie the match. The tying goal came for Heritage in the 48th minute as a shot slipped past Viking keeper Alex Magner to knot the match at one goal apiece.
“Heritage tied the score early in the second half because we weren’t playing a ‘control the ball’ game,” Evaul added. “The thing I'm trying to get through to the guys is that if they will maintain a passing game instead of a just kick the ball game, we lower the chances of another team scoring on us. When Heritage scored, our intensity dropped, while theirs picked up. We went into a playing lull which gave Heritage several opportunities against Alex.”
The match remained tied until the 70th minute, when Arreola scored off an assist from Daniel Lusk to give the lead back to Avery. From that point, the defense stepped up to hold the Cougars scoreless and preserve the one-goal victory.
“I think the key to our success in games depends on how focused and intense the offense stays. If those six guys get out of sync with themselves and with each other, and decide to play their own style of soccer as opposed to a team-oriented game, then we struggle,” Evaul explained after the win. “Our defense is playing consistent soccer, the kind I wish the offense would play. They are communicating, backing each other up, being positive with each other even when mistakes are made, they stay intense and focused the entire game. Therefore, our defense has done a good job of denying goals to opponents. With the exception of the Hendersonville and West Caldwell games, teams are averaging less than a goal per game thanks to the defense.”
In the match on Wednesday, September 29, Avery had to deal with both rival Mitchell and the elements at Memorial Stadium in Ledger. The teams had to deal with a wet field and steady rain throughout much of the match, making the pitch quite unpredictable. Avery came up big in the match, winning 3-1 in a match that was called after 60 minutes due to the field conditions.
Lusk scored a pair of goals and Arreola netted his third goal for the week. Heraclio Flores, Forrest Sickler and Lusk provided assists on the goals. Mitchell’s lone goal came off a penalty kick.
“The team did seem to play a more consistent game with more intensity than they did with Heritage. If the offense decides they are going to play as a team, and get an effective passing game going, we can be successful, and they maintained both of those throughout the game,” Evaul stated after the win.
Avery’s record stands at 10-3-2 for the season, with a key match on the schedule coming up on Wednesday, October 6, at Owen High School.
“The upcoming Owen match is a key match for us. We didn’t play our best game against them at home, which hurts because I know we could have beaten them had we played the type of game we played against Patton or Madison,” Evaul said. “That consistency is something we are going to have to work on for the remainder of the season if we want to be successful.”
