AUBURN – On most days, Edward Little boys soccer coach Dave Morin would be frustrated by his team’s numerous missed opportunities.
After Tuesday’s game against Leavitt, the word frustrated wasn’t in his vocabulary.
The Red Eddies peppered the Hornet goal with 15 shots to come away with a 3-0 victory.
Edward Little (1-1) let some golden scoring chances slip away throughout the match, with players popping shots wide or high on open looks.
“Against Mt. Ararat Saturday we had zero opportunities,” said Morin. “We did nothing against them. (Tuesday) was a start. At least we created opportunities.”
The match was controlled by the Red Eddies from start to finish. The Hornets (0-2) were able to muster just one shot on net in each half and could only put together a pair of flurries in the crease area. But while the Red Eddies controlled the action, they struggled to finish.
Midway through the first half, Tyler Snowe sent a soft shot bounding through the crease only to have it cleared by a Leavitt defender. A few minutes later, a Red Eddie forward found the ball at his feet while looking at a wide open net from 10 yards out but the shot went high over the cross bar.
The Red Eddies finally capitalized off a corner kick from Tyler Dorris.
Dorris’ ball was headed in on the far post by freshman Billy Brewster.
“There’s a young kid that knows the game,” said Morin. “He stayed wide and came in at the right time.”
The second half was more of the same as Edward Little’s offense continued to put pressure on the Leavitt defenders. Dan Pontbriand had a pair of potential goals slip by the wayside early in the half. First he was stuffed by Leavitt keeper Nick Bergoin (seven saves) on a short side rebound.
Minutes later he was fed a pass on the the right wing and wasn’t able to get a strong shot off. Instead, his soft shot allowed Bergoin to quickly slide across the crease to make the save.
Reserve forward Ben Hartnett gave the Red Eddies some insurance with just under 10 minutes remaining. Kyle Theriault placed a pass onto the right foot of Hartnett who tucked the ball into the far corner. It was a set up for Hartnett similar to one he had earlier when his shot went wide of the goal.
“It was the same situation,” said Hartnett. “I corrected myself by kicking it with the other side of my foot.”
Adam Lutz completed the scoring by beating Bergoin from in close with 2:23 to play.
Kevin Mulherrin started in goal for the Hornets. He made five saves in the first half, but suffered an injury and was unable to continue. Bergoin is normally a forward, but took over the keeper duties after the intermission.
“He came in and did a really good job,” said Leavitt coach Isaiah Davis. “The Hornets hardly resemble last year’s quick striking team that gave strong teams fits in 2004. There are only four players returning from that team and the learning process hasn’t been easy for the young Hornets.
“It’s adjusting to the speed of the game,” said Davis. “The forwards aren’t used to the short amount of time they have.”
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