Apollo and Owensboro Catholic boys soccer battled in a physical fast-paced game Thursday, with the Eagles coming out on top 2-0.
Both teams traded counters to start, but always found themselves being stopped from getting deep in their attacking thirds.
However, thanks to a clearing blunder on the defensive end by Owensboro Catholic, Apollo’s Houston Collins corralled the ball and found the back of the net.
His goal gave the Eagles its second goal of the young season and its first lead of the game in the 29th minute.
From there on they continued to trade possession, with the game getting chippy as three yellow cards were issued in the half.
Apollo found themselves controlling the pace of play as the first half neared its end, but found them falling just short of converting any offensive chances.
There were a number of things leading to this, but overall Head Coach Ryan Poirier said these things can be fixed going forward.
“[It was] a little bit of dribbling too much,” Poirier said. “[It was} a little bit of guys wanting to get that easy ball through. Lot of guys are just like ‘oh just kick it and I’ll go get it, I’m fast.”
The Eagles came flying out of halftime and picked up where they left off, but fell just short of goals on numerous occasions.
Owensboro Catholic wasn’t giving up though, controlling possession the majority of the last 15 minutes—that was until Apollo rattled off a series of counters.
The first nearly led to a goal, but Bowman missed the gimme. He got the chance to make up for it on a counter just under a minute later, earning the penalty kick and making it a 2-0 game in the 72nd minute.
The Eagles got a few more chances, including a shot that missed the net wide after the goalie had abandoned it, but the 2-0 lead was all they needed.
While they may have scored multiple goals, Poirier knows that the offense still needs some work on moving the ball to take advantage of more scoring chances.
“I think we have way more to go though,” Poirier said. “Two goals tonight and only one goal in the first game. We’ve got way more offense in us than that.”
One thing that Woeste is pleased with is his team being in sync despite some challenges that they face due to language barriers.
“I think this is the best communication we’ve ever had,” Poirier said. “And that’s saying something, because we have five different languages on the field.”
Woeste is also thrilled with the Eagles’ valiant efforts on the defensive side of the pitch.
“One thing that is nice to see is that we’re rock solid on defense right now,” Poirier said. “The chances we’re giving up, they’re going to have to earn them… We are happy with that part and this part, the mid and the attacking, is getting better.”
While the Aces might not have come out on the right side of the score, Head Coach Andy Donohoe was pleased with his team’s effort.
“Overall, I think our energy was unbelievable as usual,” Donohoe said. “We’ve gotta learn to economize our play. We tend to go all out too much.”
Apollo now sits at 2-0 overall, set to take on South Warren at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, while Owensboro Catholic will look for its first win of the season against Hopkins County Central at 7 p.m.
