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Night Game Brings First Win of the Season 11/29
The Warriors welcomed Wilcox High School to Valley Christian for the
second game of the Homestead Christmas Cup, Thursday night. The
game was to played under the lights on a beautiful November night.
With the weather dipping into the high 50s, the stage was set for an
exciting match.
Valley Christian entered the game desperately in need of their 1st win
of the year. Close games with Gunn, and Evergreen left the Warriors
at 0-2 on the young season.
The depleted Warriors team saw two more starters go down sick before the
match, Justin Cordeiro and Joseph Rosa-Diniz, leaving a total of 5
potential starters unavailable for selection. Coach Basanese
praised the team's depth.
"It's tough enough having two of our
captains out, but to lose two more guys today was tough. However,
I've been saying all pre-season that this team is the deepest that I've
had. We had guys playing out of position tonight, but they did the
job. I give a lot of credit to Britt Nelson and Jeff Mueller for
stepping in and having great games."
Traditionally, the Warriors play well in
night games. There is something about the view of the city lights,
the fans, and the fact that playing at night is different that makes
night games more attractive. The coaching staff had to do very
little to motivate the team.
"Our pregame speech was pretty much just
telling the kids to enjoy the atmosphere, and go out and represent our
school the best they could. I think they did well tonight,"
assistant coach David Fugate said after the game.
The game was fast paced and looked to be
a shootout at first.
An early goal by Alex de Leon, his first
on the season, staked the Warriors to another lead. It's the third
time in three games this year that the Warriors have scored first.
Minutes later, Jake Joseph made it 2-0
with another long range free kick that found the side netting. For
Jake, the goal was the second of the season.
Just when the Warriors appeared to be
pulling away, Wilcox answered back with a shot from their star player
that deflected off a VC defender and beat Austin Mansker. 2-1 VC.
Just a few minutes later, de Leon would
tally again, this time with a blast from 22 yards out that the Wilcox
'keeper had no chance on. The ball rippled the side netting of the
goal, 3-1 VC.
"That was a pretty impressive goal.
Of Alex's 6 career goals 3 or 4 of them have been highlight reel type
finishes. We're hoping for many more," Basanese said after the
game.
Loose marking by the VC defense allowed
another goal for Wilcox, trimming the Warrior lead to 3-2. The
game would go to half-time that way.
The second half was a different story.
The VC attack finally began breaking
through again with de Leon adding his 3rd of the game on a free kick
from Danny Hittler. In the live action, the goal appeared to be
offsides, but the after looking at the video, Alex was clearly onsides.
4-2 VC.
A video clip of the
goal can be found here.
Trevor Plug and George Fahmy then
assisted on a goal for each other. George's came off a nice cross
from Trevor, and Trevor's came after George sent him on a breakaway with
a nice tackle. 6-2 VC.
When the final whistle blew, it was the
first win of the season.
Things will continue to get tougher as
the season goes on, with the next contest Saturday against perennial
power Santa Cruz High School, at Oak Grove, 4pm.
Special thanks to John Basanese Sr. for
his incredible pictures. They can
be found here.
Game Notes: Trevor Plug scored the first goal of his
varsity career...Alex de Leon scored the first hattrick of his VC
career...The win was the 50th of John Basanese's high school coaching
career.
VCSoccer.com Man of the Match: Alex
de Leon (3g)
| Wilcox |
2 |
0 |
2 |
| Valley Christian |
3 |
3 |
6 |
VC Scoring:
Alex de Leon (Fahmy)
Jake Joseph (UA)
Alex de Leon (Joseph)
Alex de Leon (Hittler)
George Fahmy (Plug)
Trevor Plug (Fahmy)
VC Starting Lineup: Mansker, Walitsch (C), Nelson,
Hittler, Cardoza, Mueller, Rothenberg, Tarangioli, Joseph, Fahmy, Alex
de Leon
Game time: 6pm
Weather: Perfectly clear, 58 degrees |
