WS Chronicle

BY TIMOTHY RAMSEY

THE CHRONICLE

With only 12 players on the roster, the Atkins boys JV soccer team stepped onto the field somewhat shorthanded.  Having only one substitute, fatigue played a major role in last week’s matchup with Lexington High.  The Camels were defeated 5-0 by the Yellow Jackets in last Monday night’s game.

The Yellow Jackets came out aggressively in the first half, controlling the ball and putting constant pressure on Atkins goalkeeper, Calvin Ackerman.  Lexington had a number of chances to put the ball in the net early in the first half, but Ackerman made a number of clutch saves which bailed out the Camel defensemen.

Lexington was able to capitalize on their dominating ball control when striker Norburto Hurtada scored the first goal of the game with 22:47 left in the first half of play.  Following the goal, Lexington continued to apply pressure to the Atkins defense.  Ackerman continued to play well by stopping a number of shots late in the half.

The Camels were not able to combat the pressure put on by the Yellow Jackets with any attack of their own.  Atkins forwards, Hunter Hudson and Josh Nava, attempted to push the ball every opportunity they had possession, but were quickly stymied by the Lexington defensemen.

Atkins head coach felt his team played well and with all freshman on his team, he knows they will have time to gel and grow as a team.

“I think we did well and we have exactly 12 kids on the team, but they played hard,” said Atkins head coach Rufus Crouch.  “I saw some positives at the beginning of the game and our goalie played well; we just need to work on defense. Since they are so young, the future is bright for us right now.”

Coming out of the half, Lexington’s offensive intensity seemed to have been turned up a few notches.  The Yellow Jackets attack was more team oriented during the second half as they began to pass the ball around, setting up scoring opportunities.  Hurtada scored his second goal of the game by making a penalty kick with 21:30 left in the game.

While Ackerman only gave up one goal in the first half, he could not withstand the constant barrage of shots from Lexington in the second half and the flood gates began to open.  Following Hurtadas’ goal, Alexis Olloaui, Mario Resendiz and Jonathan Monsalvo all scored goals which made the score 5-0.

Lexington head coach Mason Monk was pleased with his team in the second half, but says he knows they have more work to do.

“We definitely came out in the second half very strong.  Our first half was kind of slack, but we still played possession very well, but our second half we came out with fire and overall played a very good game,” said Monk.  “We definitely need to improve on our finishing. Our finishing could have been better this evening, but at the same time we played possession well and it’s probably one of our best passing games we’ve had this year.”

Coach Crouch says he knows his kids are making a big transition from middle school to high school soccer and the speed of the game is much faster for them.  He said his team has a big learning curve, but will keep preaching the basics.

Crouch continued by saying, “The positive thing is that they never gave up, they kept playing and they kept fighting throughout the whole game. Even when the score was going up to five, they did not give up and that’s all I ask of them.  We know as the season keeps progressing we will see these teams again so if they keep fighting, the score will come down a little bit.  I think the future is very bright for these young men.”