Oxford Hills’ Spencer Strong attempts to keep the ball in bounds as Leavitt’s Jake Hodgkin, right, charges in to the play during Tuesday night’s soccer game in Paris. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)

PARIS — Oxford Hills poured it on Leavitt early — before the rain did the same thing around halftime — scoring three goals in the first eight-plus minutes of the game. The Vikings then equaled that total after halftime to down the Hornets 6-0 in a KVAC boys’ soccer game Tuesday at Gouin Athletic Complex.

“We’ve actually been consistently coming out like that against a lot of teams,” Vikings coach Matt Dieterich said. “We just haven’t put the ball in the net as consistently as we did tonight.”

Sergio Cervantes got the scoring going for the Vikings (4-2) just 94 seconds in, finishing a put-back of Will Dieterich’s initial shot. Dieterich scored a goal of his own less than five minutes later, corralling the ball with his chest before turning a firing past Hornets (2-2-3) goalie Blaine Clark. A few minutes, Dieterich fed a short through-ball to Spencer Strong for the third goal 8:21 into the game.

“He’s just a big, strong player. He’s got a lot of vision, his passing is good, he’s not selfish. And he gets back on defense. He and Spencer make the team go,” Dieterich said.

The Vikings’ fast start put the Hornets in a deficit unlike any they had seen all season. They hadn’t given up more than two goals in a game through their first six games.

“I think they came out hard. I think it’s just, we didn’t. We didn’t come ready to play,” Leavitt coach Zac Conlogue said. “We talked at halftime, we didn’t come ready to play, we were blaming each other, we weren’t talking.

“That first 10 minutes, they set the tempo, they came out very hard, they put three balls away, and then that’s it. That’s how soccer works,” Conlogue added.

Oxford Hills never gave Leavitt a chance at a come back, allowing just one shot on goal in the first half, and three total for the game. Vikings goalie Sam Morton made an aggressive slide to stop a Garrett Addison run midway through the first half on one of the Hornets’ best chances.

“I mean, they’re tough. They work hard. And it’s not even just their defense. They’re very good in the middle, which makes it tough to even get the ball up to their defense. The keeper comes out great,” Conlogue said. “So, yeah, it’s tough to get looks against them because their midfield is so talented.”

The Hornets earned their only two corner kicks of the game within the first five minutes of the second half, but couldn’t do anything with either of them. Oxford Hills had seven corner kicks in the game, but also couldn’t score on any of those chances.

Daniel Paine got the scoring re-started midway through the second half when he converted on a penalty kick. Andrew Binette (from Zack Wilson) and Dieterich (from Strong and Keegan Watson) each scored in the final 10 minutes of the game.

Matt Dieterich said the message to his team at halftime was “not to let up.”

“Last year (against) Leavitt we were up 3-1, when we were home here, and we ended up tying them 3-3,” he said. “Don’t take anything for granted, and you just got to keep playing for 80 minutes of soccer, you know, until the game’s actually over.”

Clark made six saves for Leavitt, and Morton three for Oxford Hills.

The teams will meet again in Turner two weeks from Tuesday. Conlogue said his team will be ready for the rematch.

wkramlich@sunjournal.com

Oxford Hills’ Spencer Strong controls the ball as Leavitt’s Ethan Weston defends during Tuesday night’s soccer game in Paris. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)

Oxford Hill’s Zach Wilson keeps a toe on the ball as Leavitt goalie Blane Clark dives to the ground during Tuesday night’s soccer game in Paris. (Andree Kehn/Sun Journal)

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