LINDEN — North Montgomery’s boys soccer team wanted it more than Southmont in a 5-0 Charger’s win Tuesday evening that gave the Chargers their first pair of Journal Review County Chase points this fall.
Both physically, and mentally, the Chargers had the edge over the Mounties from the start.
“We definitely wanted this one more than they did,” Chargers coach Tristain Hall said. “I imagine they wanted it, but I think we wanted it more. A lot of people are writing us off. We are pretty inexperienced, and I couldn’t be any more proud.”
Colby Coon gave North Montgomery (2-4, 2-1) a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute, and they never looked back.
“I think that first quick goal gave them hope and gave them momentum,” Southmont coach Brandon Rash said. “It was just the simple things for us that killed us. Just going to the ball and being aggressive.”
Moments later Cooper Bowman added a North goal, and the Chargers clung to a 2-0 lead at the half.
Early in the second half, senior Baydin Hall found a seam in the Mounties (1-3, 1-2) defense and gave his team some more breathing room.
“I think they thought they had it in the bag already, and just overlooked them,” Rash said about his team’s county title chances after a 4-3 win over Crawfordsville last week. “And that’s on us — preparing for the game.”
In the final 10 minutes Coon completed a hat trick with back-to-back goals to allow the Chargers to pull away.
“The kid is an athlete,” Hall said about the senior. “He’s a freak of nature. He’s dominate in track and I think that’s translated over to soccer, and he’s been working on his shot every single day.”
Southmont actually outshot North Montgomery 13-12, but had only four shots on goal. Jayden Rausch had four saves for the Chargers.
The Chargers took advantage of their shots, scoring five times on only six shots on goal.
North Montgomery travels to Bethesda Christian on Thursday, while Southmont hosts North Putnam.
