On Monday, October 12th, the Avery soccer team traveled to The Vikings got the early lead in the first couple of minutes in the match and never looked back en route to the win.
“I was sorry and not happy about the final score of the match. I told our guys that our objective, especially in the second half, was not to score but to work on our passing game to get ready for Hendersonville,” Avery soccer head coach Tom Evaul said after the win. “Kyle could have scored at will in the match, but he worked on his game, with his passing and ended up with four assists through getting everybody involved.”
The weather may have been cold and raw to the fans Avery High School Wednesday night, October 14th, but the Avery Vikings men's soccer team kept the action red hot, as it used smothering defense and timely goals to defeat 1A #2 ranked Hendersonville 3-0.
The matchup was originally scheduled to be played in
Avery struck in the very first minute of the match as a shot from Kyle Griewisch rebounded to Zack Strange, who was in perfect position to bury the shot in the back of the net to spot Avery a 1-0 advantage. The two teams jockeyed for position throughout the remainder of the half, as the Vikings defense remained stern and keeper Morgan Bounds turned away every Bearcat shot. The game remained a 1-0 lead for the Big Red until halftime.
In the second half, Avery scored in the 60th minute off a Kyle Griewisch goal assisted by Isauro Estrada to extend the Vikings advantage to 2-0. Just over a minute later,
"I definitely think that penalty shot miss was a change in momentum for us," Avery head coach Tom Evaul said after the match. "I think they would have gotten the momentum they needed if they had made the shot."
Instead of a one-goal margin, Avery preserved its 2-0 lead and added a third goal in the 67th minute when Jorge Arreola assisted on a second goal by Griewisch to close the scoring in the 3-0 triumph.
Playing without the services of senior defensive stopper Daniel Huff, who underwent knee surgery earlier on Wednesday, the Vikings defense rose to the challenge and blanked the talented Bearcats club.
"This win ranks right up there with the girls victory over Polk last season to give them their first-ever conference loss,” Coach Evaul said after the win. “I was really pleased with the defense. Brock (Yackey) has stepped up, Heraclio (Flores), and Cody (Shadoin) have all stepped up and played well of late. We have had to play a lot of the season without Daniel, and we have put in a number of players like Daniel Lusk and Forrest Sickler at stopper who keep us strong on defense," Coach Evaul added. “Morgan had another great game in goal. We had a lot of shanks and balls that we couldn't clear, yet we still kept them out of goal which says a lot about the players. I’ve never seen our team that excited and ecstatic, and I hope this will give us a boost."
On Monday night, the Vikings hosted another solid squad in the Polk County Wolverines, ranked 13th in the latest 2A soccer poll. Another strong defensive contest and a pair of timely goals were the difference in a 2-0 Viking victory.
In the early going, the Vikings spent the first several minutes on its defensive end of the field. Avery turned field position around, however, and scored the lone goal of the first half when Daniel Lusk blasted a shot from 25 yards out that found the back of the net.
The Avery defense and keeper Morgan Bounds was sharp through the first 40 minutes. Bounds made a number of athletic saves on shots to help preserve the Big Red advantage.
Throughout the second half the Wolverines pressured the Avery defense, but the Vikings were up to the challenge, turning Polk away at every forward push.
Avery almost extended its lead to two goals when a header from Jorge Arreola found the left goal post. Just a minute later, in the 75th minute, senior Kyle Griewisch went on an offensive run up the left side of the field and powered a low ball to the right corner of the goal to stake the Vikings to the two-goal edge that proved to be the winning margin.
Avery soccer improves to
