Hargrave 5 – Roanoke Valley 1
The Hargrave Varsity Soccer Team bounced back after being handed their first loss of the season this past week with an impressive performance against Roanoke Valley Christian, on Tuesday, and earned the 5-1 win.
Throughout the contest the Tigers maintained the majority of possession, and continuously threw offensive pressure towards their opponent’s defense. Although, not only did the Tigers offensive game produce, but the Tiger’s defense also played superbly in front of their own net. Defenders Adam Crook, Nick Wynne, Alnor Rodriguez, and Chris Martelli lead the way for the Tigers in the back continuously giving their opponent no easy opportunities. In fact, the Tiger defense, despite allowing the one goal, only allowed 4 shot attempts for their opponent through the full 80 minutes of play. Goalkeeper Geof Frazier, through 60 minutes of play was only forced to make two saves. Goalkeeper Nathan Bloom saw the remaining 20 minutes in goal for the Tigers, and never saw a single shot attempt on goal from the opponent.
The Tigers with their continuous offensive pressure, and impressive movement of the ball around the field would open the scoring 12 minutes into the contest with a goal from Midfielder Nathan LeNoir (1G, 2A). Senior Captain Cody Cameron (1A) was credited with the assist on the LeNoir goal.
The tally would give the Tigers the 1-0 lead, although, the lead would be short lived when five minutes later Roanoke Valley Christian tied the score at 1-1. The goal would be Roanoke’s last challenging opportunity at the Tiger’s goal.
The Tigers continued to push offensively, and then struck once again in the waning seconds of the first half. Senior Forward Philippe Armand (1G) made it a 2-1 game with a break away goal after a superb through ball from Midfielder Austin Newman (1G, 1A) that put Armand in one-on-one with the goalkeeper. The goal would end the half at 2-1.
Opening the second half the Tigers showed no signs of letting down, and maintained their strong, aggressive, pressure paced mentality. Eight minutes into the half the Tigers would make it a 3-1 game with a goal from Junior Captain Josh Splinter (1G) after receiving a crossed ball into the box behind the defense. Forward Patrick Galindo (1G, 1A) and Nathan LeNoir were credited with the assists on the play.
Less than a minute later Austin Newman made it a 4-1 advantage with an unassisted goal 30 yards from the opponent’s net. On a failed clearance Newman won the ball in the midfield, touched the ball once forward, and ripped the shot over the keeper’s head and into the back of the net. Seven minutes later the Tigers would complete the scoring with a goal from Patrick Galindo. Nathan LeNoir would be credited with the assist on the Galindo goal as he sent a crossed ball to the opposite side of the field. Galindo collected the flighted ball, drove past several defenders, and barried the ball into the back of the net.
With the 5-1 lead well in hand the Tigers would close out the match with aggressive play, and a superb all-around effort that had been continued from the very beginning of the game. The Tigers also received incredible bench play that equally carried the load, and produced impressively during the course of play.
With the victory the Tigers move to 9-1 on the season. The Tigers will await their next opponent as they play host to Roanoke Catholic on Thursday, October 13. Game time is slotted for 4pm.
