Forwards Do Their Job in Rout of Riordan 1/6

After a tough 2-0 loss to St. Francis (#6 in CCS), the Warriors were looking for a win against Riordan on Saturday.  The weather and field conditions couldn't have been any better.  The weather was a cool 54 degrees and there was bright sunshine. 

After a good pregame warmup, the Warriors took the field dressed in their whites.  From the opening whistle, the VC players pressured Riordan, forcing turnover after turnover.  In the 14th minute, the Warriors got on the board.

Kegan Garrison took a throw-in deep in the Riordan end.  He threw the ball to a checking Ryan Favre.  After a quick turn, Favre fired a shot that found the far post side netting, stunning the Riordan 'keeper who barely even moved.  1-0 VC.

"That was a great goal.  We worked with the forwards on shooting yesterday, and that looked like one of my drills," Coach Basanese said.  "Give credit to Ryan, that kid improves in practice every day and today he was rewarded."

The game would continue to favor VC who gave up only one shot the entire first half.  In the 20th minute, Freshman Alex de Leon put the Warriors up 2-0 with the first goal of his young career...and what a goal it was.

Captain Ross Mark received a throw-in around the top of the 18 yard box.  Upon seeing Alex de Leon coming towards him, Ross passed a soft ball back to Alex who fired a left footed shot with his first touch.  The 25 yard shot never got higher than 5 feet off the ground as it struck the far post and caromed across the goal into the side netting. 2-0 VC.

"As far as high school goals go, that was about as good as they get." Basanese said.  "We're expecting great things from Alex, and he opened his account today with a classy goal.  I'm proud of him, he's worked hard."

Just 8 minutes later, John Field would add to the lead.  After a free kick bounced off the Riordan wall, Field belted a 23 yard shot into the far post side netting...with his right foot.  For Field, it was the second goal of his career, both coming while playing defense.

Coach Fugate had this to say about Field's goal.

"John works hard in practice, and is a great kid.  I'm happy to see him get that goal, it's well deserved, and a great shot!"

At halftime the Warriors went to the lockeroom with a comfortable 3-0 lead.

Many substitutions were made at halftime, getting several players playing time.  The level of the game stayed very high, and the Warriors kept pressuring.  Riordan managed 5 shots, one that took a magnificent save to keep it out of the VC net.

Riordan had a free kick, and the ball was played perfectly over the defense to an onrushing player.  The Riordan player headed the ball towards the corner of the net.  Freshman 'keeper Austin Mansker dove to his left and deflected the ball just outside the post as he smashed into the goal.  The shutout would remain intact, and Austin finished with 5 saves.

Basanese commented on the Freshman goalkeeper. 

"That save was unbelievable.  I asked Austin to keep the ball out of our net, and he did just that.  He is big for us back there, I'm very pleased with the way he played."

With about 3 minutes to play, George Fahmy added the nail in the coffin with his first ever varsity goal.  John Walitsch played a ball that bounced over the 'keeper's head and off the crossbar. Fahmy was positioned perfectly to finish off the goal. 4-0.

Coach Basanese saw the fact that three goals were scored by forwards as significant.

"I'm proud of the forwards.  I've been challenging them all season, but we've not been scoring goals.  To have 3 forwards get goals for us today is a step in the right direction.  We need the guys up top to produce for us to take pressure off the midfielders.  I'm confident in our guys that they'll do just that."

The defense held strong with great performances, most notably by Tyler Williamson who shut down several Riordan chances.

"This is an important win for us.  It brings us back to .500 in league.  This is a very difficult league, and this year it's worse than normal.  We need to win the games that we should win, and we did that today.  Next up is St. Ignatius, and we're well aware that they're a very good team.  We need to go there Tuesday and get a result." Basanese concluded.

The Warriors improve to 4-7-1 overall, and 3-3 in WCAL play.  The first half of the league season ends this coming Tuesday against St. Ignatius. Check back to the website for the result and recap.

vcsoccer.com man of the match: Tyler Williamson (shutout)

VC Starting Lineup: Mansker, Goldsmith, Seaman, Field, Joseph, Tarangioli, Yun, Garrison, Mark, A. de Leon, Favre

Weather: 54 degrees, sunny

www.vcsoccer.com