Thresher soccer teams split conference openers
Thresher soccer teams split conference openers
The men take home a 4-0 win while the women lose in close battle, 3-1.
This past Saturday, the men’s and women’s Bethel soccer teams took on Avila at home to open up the conference season. The women fell short with a score of 3-1, while the men brought home the win with a score of 4-0.
For the women, the Eagles took the lead within the first 20 minutes of the contest, scoring a goal from 31 yards out. Going into halftime, Avila would lead the contest 2-0.
“If we were focused enough in front of the goal, we would be celebrating a victory [right] now,” head coach Luka Milicevic said. “Congrats to Avila on the win, they were well organized and capitalized on their opportunities.”
In the 82nd minute of play, the Eagles would advance the score to 3-0. In the 87th minute, junior Claire Hedlund found a way to score after being assisted by senior Sydney Brown.
This would be the way the game would end, finishing at 3-1, putting the Threshers at a record of 2-4-1.
“We need to be strong enough mentally to forget about the result and focus on Bethany who we play this Wednesday,” Milicevic said. “[The] ladies work hard and I recognize that — it’s on us to grow from this loss.”
On the men’s side, Bethel wasted no time getting up in the match, scoring two goals within the first four minutes of play.
The first goal came from sophomore Adalsteinn Kristinsonn with an assist from senior Vicente Trejo at the 2:53 mark of the game. The second from freshman Gabriel Villegas with an assist from sophomore Juan Demichelis at the four-minute mark.
For the next 79 minutes of play, both teams were silent with no scoring coming from either side. Then in the 84th minute, a big pass was made from Kristinsonn to senior Sebastian Forementos for a goal, making the score 3-0.
In the 89th minute of play, senior Louis Etienne from Wellman, Iowa, scored the Threshers’ final goal of the game and sealed the victory.
“The boys opened the game well with two quick goals,” Milicevic said. “Our level dropped after that but we were solid enough to manage the game and add another two goals in the second half. We still need to grow the level of our game and transfer the quality from practice sessions into games. The confidence is growing but we need to leave the past in the past and focus on what is in front of us.”
Both teams will be back in action on Wednesday as they travel to Lindsborg to take on Bethany. The women’s game will start at 5:30 p.m., followed by the men’s game at 7 p.m.