Greencastle exacted a measure of revenge with a 3-2 boys soccer win over Crawfordsville.
“It’s been a minute since we won a match here,” Tiger Cubs coach JD Sims said. “It’s been 4-5 years. We are over the moon.”
The Athenians scored a goal in the first two minutes of the match on a Kevin Puerto-Chirinos goal on a pass from David Estrada, but there would be only one more the rest of the hot evening, when Patrick Corado knocked in a header on a pass from Jaziel Gil-Herera.
“We scored quickly and fell into a trap offensively,” said Athenians coach Marcus Hale. “We tried to do the same thing over and over and it didn’t work again.”
The loss drops Crawfordsville to 3-2 on the early season, while the Tiger Cubs move to 3-1 on a three-game win streak.
Micah Foxx tallied all three Greencastle goals, as the sophomore evened the match at one with a goal in the middle of the first half, gave the visitors the halftime lead with a goal literally as the halftime buzzer sounded, and got his third with 9:54 left in the match.
“We are still looking for that comfort level - that trust in teammates and that togetherness,” Hale said. “We have a collection of kids, from younger players who are finding their footing and making good contributions, to the older players we need for leadership. It’s part of what we need to do to become the team we want to be.”
Athenians goal keeper Alec Saidian was peppered with 20 shots on goal, as the Tiger Cubs kept the pressure on in their attack zone. “He had some great saves,” Hale said of the junior.
Crawfordsville managed only seven shots on Tiger Cubs goalie Harris Weltz. Corado, who left the Western Boone match last week with a leg injury, did play and had a goal.
“We slowed the game down,” Sims said. “We controlled the tempo and played really well in the middle of the field. We played good defense and kept the ball away from their really good strikers. It was a big day for everyone on this team. We beat a good Crawfordsville team, and we are really happy.”
Both teams have more action left in the hot weather.
The Tiger Cubs have three games in the next six days, all conference matches, and all a home. They have a September match against Southmont.
The Athenians take on the Mounties on Thursday at South . They play at Covington next Tuesday.
