The Falcons soccer team defeated the Valparaiso Crusaders 2-0. It was their last warm-up game before the season opener on Saturday, Aug. 26.
The game was played with three 30 minute periods, as the coaches made an agreement before the game.
The Falcons controlled the ball early as sophomore forward Chris Brennan got a header on net only three minutes in. 12 minutes later, junior forward Tate Robertson stole and dished the ball again to Brennan, who fired a shot on cage, only to be stopped by the Valparaiso goalkeeper.
Just minutes later, it was Brennan’s turn to set someone up as his pass lead to the opening goal, scored by defenseman Moe Mustafa, before time ended in the first.
Early on in the second period at the 35-minute mark senior Keaton Reynolds fired a header into the twine only to immediately be called off for offsides.
Reynolds, one of the four captains, is already looking like the top leader on and off the field. Falcons Head Coach Eric Nichols described him as selfless and a fierce competitor.
The Falcons wouldn’t let the waved goal keep them down for long as it was Robertson’s time to score this time after he scooped a free ball and fired it home after a cross from Brennan.
“Those two [Robertson and Brennan] are two of our top players for sure,” Nichols said. “It’s hard to signal anyone out because we have so many guys, but those are two to keep an eye on. They should be part of a lot of goals.”
This would end a rather quiet 1st period with the score sitting at 2-0.
At the 72- and 73-minute marks, Reynolds and Souahy respectively sent headers that couldn’t find the net leaving the score still at 2-0.
This would be it for the scoring as after the 2nd period horn sounded the Falcons headed home with a 2-0 victory, closing out the exhibition slate.
Although the boys came away with the dub in this one, they still need to work on their intensity and energy for the games that count in the scorebooks.
Nichols doesn’t want his goalkeeper [Anthony Mwembia] to have to come up with big saves at the end of games-he had to in this one. This is because the team is so different than last years, according to Nichols. They graduated a good amount of points from last year.
That opens up opportunities for younger players. The team is very balanced throughout all four years, and spots in the starting lineup are still up for grabs.
This competition doesn’t lead to any animosity though, as the players all still pull and root for each other.
The team is anxious, Nichols said, as the regular season starts on Saturday, Aug. 26, with a tilt against the Indianapolis Jaguars at Cochrane Stadium.
