COVINGTON — Aggressive play offensively was the key for both winning teams in a Crawfordsville-Covington soccer doubleheader.
The Athenian boys remain undefeated with a 6-1 win, while Covington’s girls picked up their first win of the season at the hands of the Crawfordsville girls with a 3-0 victory.
Boys Remain Unbeaten
The boys team finished the non-conference half of a big week with six straight goals to win 6-1 and move to 5-0-1 on the season.
A rare, and early, turnover, became a Trojans goal early in the first half, but from that moment on, the Athenians controlled the tempo and the match.
Three goals in each half continues the offensive flow of the team, who have now outscored opponents 34-4.
Jose Manuel Olvera Castellanos and Thristan Callejas each scored twice, and Marshall Horton had a pair of assists, to lead the Athenians.
“We had a good bounce back from last night,” C’ville coach Marcus Hale said, referring to the 1-1 tie Monday against Greencastle. “Covington presents some different problems, and we tried a few different things. We got some extra guys in the game and we kept the pressure on.”
Crawfordsville peppered Trojans goal keeper Jack Stewart from the first minute on, firing a total of 24 shots on goal. They logged 41 scoring chances, as they came at the net from every direction.
“We want to be aggressive,” Hale said. “Opponets don’t like pressure. Our defense helps create some offense, but attacking is what is best for us.”
With so much of the match spent in the Trojan zone, the night was a little easier for Athenians goal keeper Ladon Timmons. The senior saw only two shots on goal, but was in net as the hosts came at him 16 times during the game.
“Lamdon did a good job,” Hale said, “and I thought Sergio Hernandez and Jose (Manuel Olvera Castellanos) also had great games. It was really a great team win.”
The Athenians big week continues with two Sagamore Conference games yet this week.
“Our goal is to play well for every game,” Hale noted, “and we have two coming up with home matches Thursday and Saturday against Lebanon and Tri-West. It’s all about everyone doing their jobs, in whatever role that might be. We are off to a good start, but there are a lot of games left.”
Girls Fall
Nothing worked quite right for the Athenians girls in a 3-0 loss to the Trojans.
A late start to the boys match meant the girls action finished the dark, and in fact, the game ended with time left on the clock.
A couple injuries added to the night, and an aggressive Covington squad scored three early goals to set the tone as Crawfordsville falls to 1-3 on the season, while the Trojans win their first match of the season to move to that same 1-3 mark.
“We had a couple lapses in judgement and Covington capitalized,” C’ville coach Alex Ehrlich said. “We lost track of the all a couple times. We battled hard, we didn’t give up a goal in the second half, and I am proud of them. We just have to keep our heads up and respond by fighting hard and keeping our heads up.”
An early goal by the Trojans put the visitors in a hole, a weird ounce off the cross bar on a free kick became the second goal, and a well-executed corner kick became goal three.
The Athenians could manage only three shots on goal, while C’ville goal keeper Zoey Corbin faced 15. The home squad also had early 30 zone attacks, as they came at the net time and again.
“That crazy bounce on the free kick is the story of Zoey’s life,” Ehrlich said, noting that the kick grazed the upper cross bar, picked up a weird spin, and ended up in the net. “I thought she played really well, as did (Hannia) Hernandez and (Riley) Gardner. We switched them to mid-defense and it was a good switch.”
Eliza Holycross was involved in all three Trojans goals, scoring one and assisting on the other two.
“This team wants it so badly,” Ehrlich said. “We are working on individual skills in places like hallways at school. We just have some old habits to work out of, but we will do that. We will keep fighting.”
The Athenians are on the road again Wednesday, and back in Sagamore action, with a trip to Lebanon.
