Hargrave 1 – Holy Cross 0
Senior forward Nick Barr scored the lone goal for the Tigers on their way to 1-0 win over the Gaels of Holy Cross in their season and conference opener.
In a game largely marked by its defense the Tiger defensive effort proved to be the deciding factor for the home team throughout the contest to secure the clean sheet. On the defensive end of the ball the Tigers allowed only 8 Gael shots, of which the majority never found their mark to the goal. Tiger goalkeeper Nathan Bloom was forced to make only 2 saves in the game including a late second half diving save to maintain the 1-0 Tiger advantage. With the absence of senior captain Nate Anglin, due to injury, junior Austin Hirschfield filled in the sweeper position for the Tigers superbly with good control of his backline and an aggressive presence towards the ball winning everything that came near the newest addition to the team. Senior defender Adam Crook, the only active player for the Tiger defense from its fall team, along with sophomore newcomer Andrew Shin and junior Alec Field complimented the defense aggressively leaving very few scoring opportunities for their opponents.
The Tiger midfield also followed suit with a superb performance controlling much of the play in the center. Led by captains Josh Splinter and Scott Dinius the Tigers were able to make any play through the midfield difficult for the Gaels. Unfortunately the Tigers suffered an injury to junior midfielder Mike Badolato 20 minutes into the first half keeping him sidelined for the remainder of the match. His status is yet unknown, but the Tigers may miss his 18 goal, 12 assist performance from last season. Things looked up, though, as another new face to the Tiger soccer team, Kenny Mattimore, filled in nicely for the Tigers in the midfield. Mattimore, along with Dinius, Splinter, left wing Tony Cain and great off the bench play from Garret Jennings and, yet another newcomer to the Tigers, Austin Koeneman the Tigers created great play through the midfield and up the flanks as they created opportunities for their strikers, themselves, and others around them.
The Tigers received superb play from forward Nick Barr throughout the match including the game winner 18 minutes into the first half off a Tony Cain shot from the left wing that could not be controlled by the Gaels goalkeeper. After a failed cross from deep within the Gaels right flank the ball found its way back to Cain from just around the left corner of the box striking it first time on goal. The Gaels’ keeper was unable to control the shot, giving up the rebound where Barr followed up scoring past the sprawling keeper. Senior Tumi Demuren, junior Aaron Snell, and sophomores Dong Myung Eun and Edwin Choi contributed good minutes for the Tigers up top with some good scoring opportunities as they continued to wear down the Gaels defense. Despite a few more chances in front of their opponent’s goal the Tigers were unable to find the mark again, but held on reassuringly for the 1-0 win.
