Boys soccer edges out Grossmont
Seven minutes into the game, midfielder Conor McFadden (12) threw himself into the air. He headed the ball, sending the throw-in straight towards the far post, to score the first goal of the game, en route to a 3-1 win over Grossmont in the first round of the CIF playoffs Tuesday.
Today, they take on No. 3-ranked Poway in the quarterfinals at Poway.
Grossmont came out with a lot of intensity, playing aggressively in the opening minutes, defender Chris Bush (12) said.
“We definitely had to adjust to [Grossmont] in the beginning,” defender Chris Bush (12) said. “It wasn’t the cleanest game we’ve played. We could have played smarter, keeping the ball on the ground and making more passes, but we did what we needed to do to finish it up.”
Receiving six yellow cards did not deter the Wolverines from doing all they could to advance to the next round.
“There’s a lot of intensity, not a lot of great soccer,” Coughlin said. “We scored three good goals. We’re really good at scoring off set pieces, going off free kicks and throw ins.”
Halfway through the first half, McFadden hit a long ball to forward Ryan Inghilterra (11). Looking to see who was open, Inghilterra flicked it to midfielder Brian Robinson (12), who successfully put it away, boosting the score to 2-0.
Coach Martin Coughlin said that first round CIF games usually get more fouls and penalties than usual.
“I think our performance wasn’t an atypical Westview boys soccer performance,” Coughlin said. “We can play better than that, but because it was the first round, those games are always nervy. We’ve hardly received any [yellow cards] this year, never mind six. It’s a little frustrating, but it’s typical for a first round.”
Grossmont scored its only goal with 16 minutes left on the clock, which the Wolverines quickly rebutted when McFadden scored his second goal with 11 minutes left in the second half.
Bush said that he is happy with the score, but knows there are still things to work on.
“We could have played a little smarter, keeping the ball on the ground and making more passes,” Bush said. “But overall, we got the job done. We put away our chances and definitely kept the pressure on them.”