BOILING SPRINGS, SC - After waiting almost thirty years to pick up another region championship, the Boiling Springs boys soccer team made sure to take advantage of their opportunity in front of a large enthusiastic home crowd that were on the edge of their seats all match long.
For the second season in a row, the Boiling Springs boys' soccer team advances to the second round of the 5A playoffs with a victory over Spring Valley, this win being a decisive 3-1 victory. "Winning the first one is always difficult because you're playing teams you only hear rumors about so it's hard to understand what you're up against until you hit the field," said Boiling Springs head boys soccer coach Jack Underwood. "We always hear this team is this or that so there's always a level of nervousness when you get out on the field as you have to prove you belong. That's something we're trying to do as a program is prove that we're supposed to be here and we're the team to beat every time we hit the field which I think we done a good job of tonight." Boiling Springs got the scoring going just seven minutes into the match when junior forward Val Bytyai made a right footed shot that he just got enough of to get past a sliding Spring Valley goalie to find the bottom left of the net for a 1-0 lead. The Bulldogs added to their lead when sophomore midfielder Jose Ramirez broke away down the middle of the field before firing a right footed shot that went over the top of the leaping goalie to put the Bulldogs up 2-0 at the eighteen-minute mark of the first half. It was a lead that the Bulldogs would take into the halftime break. "Any time you're playing in a playoff game getting ahead and making the other team chase is a good thing," said Underwood. "We've been very good defensively as we only gave up two goals in region play, one of which was a penalty kick, but getting the early goal is always good but can also be worrisome because it can fire the other team up." Boiling Springs added their third goal of the match just a minute into the second half when junior midfielder Diego Perez-Vega corralled a shot by another Bulldogs player that ricocheted off the Vikings goalie before firing a left-footed shot that found the left corner of the net to put the Bulldogs up 3-0 in the match. Spring Valley added their only goal of the match at the eighteen-minute mark of the second half marking the only shot that got past goalkeeper Diego Martinez. Martinez had a strong night in the goal for the Bulldogs with 11 saves and Coach Underwood said he's one of three sophomore goalies that the Bulldogs have that he'd have confidence playing in any match. "I'm fortunate to have three great sophomore goalkeepers that I can rotate at any point," said Underwood. "Diego is a little more solid in penalty kicks and is solid but I'd be comfortable with any of the three being back there. Being a goalkeeper is all about being calm and controlling the game and getting the win." With the victory the Bulldogs move to the second round of the 5A playoffs where they will host Mauldin, who defeated Blythewood 2-1 on Monday night. The second-round matchup will be held on Wednesday with am expected start time of 7:00 PM. Comments are closed.
|
Our Sponsors
If you would like to join us as a sponsor please contact us at: [email protected]
Archives
October 2023
Categories |