Last week the Avery men’s soccer squad squared off with a pair of talented teams, traveling to Wednesday’s match with the undefeated Warhorses was a highly physical affair. Despite a total of seven yellow card administered to the Owen club, the Avery team kept its cool to play cleanly throughout the 80 minutes of action without being carded.
The underdog Vikings showed early that they were no pushovers. The Big Red drew first blood when Isauro Estrada assisted on a goal from Jorge Arreola in the 20th minute to stake Avery to a 1-0 advantage.
Just three minutes later the Vikings struck the stunned Owen club for a second goal. Kyle Griewisch passed a ball ahead to Javier Bravo who peeled a shot into the back of the net for a 2-0 Avery lead.
Owen continued its physical brand of soccer and continued to test the patience of the Avery players. In the final minute of the first half, the Warhorses slipped a shot into goal to cut the Vikings lead to 2-1 at halftime.
As the second half ensued the Warhorses ramped up the intensity and put a good deal of pressure on the Avery club. Owen knotted the match at 2-2 with a goal in the 53rd minute, and following it up with a go-ahead goal in the 69th minute and in the final four minutes of the match to escape with a 4-2 win.
“I don’t teach that physical brand of soccer that we saw tonight. You play soccer to play the game and not to see how many players you can take out of the match. They were coming at everybody hard and we kept our cool. The only thing that beat us with tonight was the three goals on throw-ins, and we dominated in everything else except for fouls,” Avery head soccer coach Tom Evaul said after the match. “I’m proud of how we played. There wasn’t much we could do in such a physical match. We’ll have to do a better job of protecting the sidelines when we play them at Avery. But I can’t say enough about this group of guys and how proud of them I am. It’s been a long time since we gave Owen a run for their money. People are going to know about Avery soccer.”
The squad looked to put the Wednesday loss behind them when they journeyed to
The two teams played to a scoreless first half, which served to fire up the Vikings for a strong second half of play.
In the 51st minute of the match, Avery broke the ice when Kyle Griewisch scored off an assist from Jorge Arreola in what proved to be the lone scoring play of the match for either club.
“We had a slow, sluggish start in the first half. We talked about more movement away from the ball and being tied at the half really seemed to build up the team’s confidence and fire them up,” Coach Evaul said after the win. “We had much more movement, aggression, and determination in the second half. Every single player we put on the field, including the substitutes, just played as hard as I have seen them play yet.”
Senior keeper Morgan Bounds earned a shutout win as he made ten saves on the night.
“I told the guys at the end of the game that they continue to amaze me with what they are doing this season despite injury or other factors. Patton was fast and quick, and at times more physical than us, but we played hard and smart,” Coach Evaul said. “Our team played as though it was the last game of their lives, and I’m so proud of their attitude towards the game, each other, and what we as a team want to happen this season.”
Avery returns to the pitch this week for a pair of home matches against Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy September 14th and a conference matchup with Hendersonville on Wednesday, September 16th.
