Luke Ferrierra punches ina pair of goals for Mt. Blue.
TURNER – The Leavitt Hornets are still probably wondering why they faced such an uphill battle against Mt. Blue High School Saturday.
Luke Ferrierra scored two goals, including the first of the game on a penalty kick, and goalies Ben Prentiss and Tom Anderson combined for six saves as Mt. Blue spoiled the Hornets’ homecoming game with a 5-0 KVAC boys’ soccer victory.
“They were definitely pumped at the beginning,” said Mt. Blue coach Joel Smith. “They were up for this game, especially on homecoming weekend.”
Just 3:50 into the game, Leavitt forwards Adam Sawyer and Jon Godfrey had back-to-back chances against Prentiss, who turned aside the first and watched as the second offering hit the post.
At 22:34, a Leavitt defender tripped Ferrierra inside his own box, setting up a penalty kick. Ferrierra tucked the ball neatly into the lower left corner of the net past a diving Scott Lessard.
“I knew where I was going,” said Ferrierra. “I practice that kind of shot every day.”
For the rest of the game, Mt. Blue played only eight men back as the Hornets struggled to mount an offensive answer. With 1:47 left in the half, Ferreirra added his second goal on a nice lob pass from Oscar Rivera Garcia, and with just 22 seconds left, Zach Frechette added the Cougars’ third goal.
“They kept getting caught in our midfield,” said Frechette. “That let us get free up at forward a bit easier. We had a lot more speed and we were able to use it as long as the halfbacks played well.
“They didn’t let their offense get to our defensive third of the field.”
Leavitt had another flurry of opportunity in the 13th minute and again in the 20th minute of the second half, but Prentiss was equal to the task both times.
“We wanted to be able to play a control game,” said Smith. “We wanted to control the passing and the pressure, and avoid an up-and-down game with a lot of transitions. We did that and came out of here with a win.”
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