There are many sayings in sports, among them, “A win is a win.” It’s an acknowledgement while the performance may not have been the team’s best, they achieved victory.
The varsity boys soccer team managed to score two goals when they needed them the most Friday, April 23, at home against Benton Community, pulling out a 2-1 win in overtime.
“I told these guys it’s almost like a postseason game, it doesn’t matter what happens the entire game, the only thing that matters is the result,” said Head Coach Jeremy McMurrin. “They (Benton) played great, we were our own worst enemy today, but we got the result and that’s what matters.”
The Spartans had the wind at their backs in the first half but were unable to score leading to a 0-0 halftime tally. Benton scored on a penalty kick in the second half and looked to be on track for a non-conference upset win. However, William Wittich scored the equalizer late in the half. Dillon Bruck scored three minutes into the first overtime period for the sudden death victory. Bruck and Nate Ferguson each had one assist in the match with a pair of shots on goal apiece for Owen Erusha, Wittich, Eli Freerks and Bruck.
“We struggled,” McMurrin said. “We were our own worst enemy, not to take anything away from Benton because they played very well. They did a really good job of marking important people and we never adjusted to that.”
The Spartans improved to 7-2, 3-2 in the WaMaC East, while the Bobcats slip to 2-6, 1-5 in the WaMaC West.
Mount Vernon hosts Solon Friday, April 29, at 5 p.m. while Center Point-Urbana visits Tuesday, May 3, at 5:30 p.m. Williamsburg visits Thursday, May 5, at 5:30 p.m. in a game originally scheduled for Friday, May 6.
Dillon Bruck battles a Bobcat while attacking the Benton Community goal Friday, April 22, at home. The senior scored the winning goal three minutes into overtime as Solon prevailed, 2-1.