Athenians knock Tiger Cubs from ranks of unbeaten in boys' soccer
GREENCASTLE - Two goals from Patrick Corado was enough as the Greencastle Tiger Cubs boys’ soccer team fell to the visiting Crawfordsville Athenians 4-1 to take its first loss of the season.
The pace of the game started slow as the two undefeated teams tried to figure each other out. The Tiger Cubs had a couple of good chances early but were unable to reach the back of the net.
The Athenians would strike first with just over twenty minutes left in the opening half. Corado was able to break free after a fortuitous bounce of the ball and put it past the keeper for a 1-0 advantage.
Less than two minutes later, Greencastle answered when striker Seth Kallem broke through the defense and finished it off to knot the match up at one.
In a quick scoring frenzy, Crawfordsville struck again in less than a minute. This time it was Manuel Olvera. He was the recipient of a rebound off the Tiger Cubs keeper after a shot from Corado. The ball fell right to his foot and gently settled it in goal to push the score to 2-1.
The Athenians controlled the rest of the first half, keeping possession and out shooting the Cubs 4-1 the rest of the half, but could not extend their lead.
“We really wanted to control possession. We were slow getting started, but really competed for the ball well,” Athenian coach Marcus Hale.
Greencastle tried to answer quickly in the second half as Micah Foss was able to get a shot on goal, but Crawfordsville keeper Alec Saidian was able to make the save. The Athenians wasted no time as Corado struck again after a great pass on the counterattack, coming from about 15 yards out to make it 3-1.
The Tiger Cubs would have a couple more chances but were never able to tally another score. Crawfordsville would add a final score when Ryo Nishina scored after a great through ball from Yeison Cifuentes to make the final score 4-1.
“They (Crawfordsville) passed the ball well and I thought #4 (Jaziel Gil-Herrera) was an unsung hero for them. He really controlled the game in the middle,” Greencastle coach JD Sims said.
Greencastle falls to 2-1 on the season and begins WIC action Wednesday at Indian Creek and traveling to Brown County on Sunday. Crawfordsville moves to 2-0 on the season and will take on Sagamore conference foe Southmont on Thursday.