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Hansen's 25th shutout, and
Coggan's 25th assist too much for ST.
12/5
The Warriors, played today,
for the third straight playable day. Having endured a physical,
tough loss to Woodside Saturday, VC looked to rebound against a skilled
Santa Teresa side.
The weather was about as
perfect as it can be for a soccer match. Not a hint of wind, no
clouds, and a 63 degree game time temperature. A perfect scene for
the last tune-up ahead of Thursday's WCAL opener at St. Francis.
The game started off with
the Warriors dominating play. Jeff
Coggan made quick work of the Saints' defenders over and over again.
Coggan paired with Austin Keeling in the
center proved to be a combination that the ST players could not handle.
Valley Christian started
the scoring in the 22nd minute with a 'Goal of the Year' candidate by
Keeling. Coggan found Austin open around 25 yards out.
Keeling took a few dribbles and fired an absolute rocket off the right
post and into the back of the net. The shot looked like the 'fiery
dart,' an elusive shot that some of the offensive players work on in
practice.
"That was a great hit" head
coach Aleks Vranicic said afterwards.
For the Senior captain, it
was his third goal of the young season.
The Warriors broke through
again in the 33rd minute. Coggan juked several defenders and fired a
shot that was barely saved by the ST keeper. The rebound fell to
senior forward Joey Stryker who put the
ball away with his head, 2-0.
Halftime ended with VC up
2-0, and it could've been 5-0 if not for some great saves by the ST
keeper, who had a great day in goal.
The second half was mostly
the same. As the Saints grew frustrated, they began to foul.
In all, 3 yellow cards were given out...all to ST players. One
player was shown red for a flagrant foul on Keeling just outside the
area, it was his second yellow.
The good attitudes paid off
for the Warriors when Sophomore striker
Christian de Leon was steamrolled by two defenders after a great
hustle play to get alone with the 'keeper. Penalty.
Coggan stepped up to the
ball and placed the ball perfectly inside the left post. 3-0.
Several more chances would
come the Warriors way. Both Brad McLaughlin,
and Keegan Garrison had near misses near
the end of the game.
Quietly, star 'keeper
Ben Hansen recorded the 25th shutout of
his career. On the night he had 6 saves, and his distribution was
flawless.
"We played well today.
Santa Teresa is a solid team, they have some great players. The
kids know nothing is easy, and today they put this one away. It's
a good win for us" concluded coach
John Basanese.
The thoughts and prayers of
the VC Soccer community go out to starting forward
Nathan Goldsmith who was unable to join
the team today after suffering a concussion in Saturday's game.
Chris McElhatton also was forced to
sit out with an injury. Both players are valuable and are expected
back soon.
Game Notes: Coggan's
two assists give him 25 in his career. The shutout is Ben Hansen's 25th.
vcsoccer.com man of the match: Austin Keeling (1g)
|
Santa Teresa |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Valley Christian |
2 |
1 |
3 |
Scoring summary:
Keeling (Coggan) '22
Stryker (Coggan) '33
Coggan (Penalty) '70
VC Starting Lineup: Hansen,
Zvolanek, Seaman, Mark, Nettemeyer, Pereira, Keeling, Coggan, Osuna, de
Leon, Stryker
Weather: Perfectly sunny, 63
degrees. |
