On Saturday afternoon, the Manual boys’ varsity soccer team beat the Franklin County Flyers 8-0.
The Manual JV boys’ soccer team played before varsity and took the win 6-0 against Franklin County’s JV team.
Before the game, the crowd’s attention was drawn to a short hype video for the varsity boys, displayed on the new and improved score board. The hype video featured clips and pictures from previous games, as well as the players’ information.
This was one of the first games in the newly renovated stadium, and the players were big fans of the turf.
“I enjoyed playing on the new field because the turf is fluffy, and doesn’t stick to you or your socks,” Owen Singer (#12, 11) said.
First Half:
Franklin County received the ball to begin the game, starting off strong. The flyers started advancing the ball to Manuals’ side, but Hamza Barbour (#5, 11) stopped them by gaining possession for the Crimsons. Evan Owens (#15, 12) then threw the ball in to Grant Rogers (#20,12), which led to Rogers getting the first goal of the game only three minutes into the first half with an assist from Abdel Bandares (#16, 12).
After the kick-off, the ball was brought straight back over to the Flyers’ side. Barbour passed the ball to Joseph Garcia (#19, 11), who then passed the ball to Bandaras. This led to him getting the second goal of the game only one minute after the first.
These back-to-back goals set a steady momentum for the Crimsons and continued throughout the game.
There was a goal kick by Franklin County, and a corner kick immediately followed, but, unfortunately, the Crimsons missed the goal, which led to the Flyers kicking it down to Manuals’ side. One of their players made an attempt at a goal, but it was ultimately picked up by the goalie, Thomas Jeziorski (#99, 11). Jeziorski decided to kick the ball back into play, and sent it straight to Garcia, who ran the ball to an easy goal ten minutes in.
Soon after, a corner kick by Bandares assisted Rogers in his second goal of the game. After that, the Flyers gained possession of the ball, but the Crimsons’ defense kept the ball in the middle of the field. Braxton Cox (#25, 12) ended this lull in the game, by kicking the ball all the way down to Franklin County’s side.
Bandares sent a corner kick straight for Barbour, but, unfortunately, Barbours’ shot went just a bit too high. He had another chance shortly after, but the Flyers’ goalie caught the ball.
A foul on Benson Green (#4, 12) allowed him to receive a free kick, but Franklin County’s defense kept him from scoring. Next, a corner kick by Garcia led Alex Popa (#9, 11) to get his first goal of the game. Immediately after, the Crimsons almost scored another goal, but the Flyers’ goalie caught the ball, once again.
After a round of subbing, Elliott Case (#17, 11) had his first opportunity to score, but just slightly missed the goal. Following that, a few passes left Singer with a perfect shot for his first goal of the game. After the kick-off, Singer immediately dribbled the ball down the field to claim his second goal of the game with twelve minutes left in the first half.
Later on, a Flyer made a foul on Solomon Tandy (#21, 11) and he was given a free kick. Tandy passed the ball back and went with a head shot for the goal but barely missed with one minute left.
The Crimsons led 7-0 at the end of the first half.
Second Half:
Mohsin Wiseman (#24, 11) started off the second half with a corner kick, and one of the Manual players attempted a goal, but Franklin County’s goalie caught it. Case quickly gained possession, and made the goal, but was offside, meaning that no point was awarded.
Shortly after, multiple Manual players attempted goals, and missed, but Green sent the ball into the net for a game ending point, not even ten minutes into the second half. When one team has an 8-goal lead, they can trigger a “mercy rule,” which ends the game early.
“They played more like a team than they’ve ever played. It’s something we’ve been working on all year,” head coach Michael Hayes said.
The final score was 8-0 for the Crimsons.
