The Eagles boys’ soccer team earned their first win of the season against the Beaver Brae Broncos on Wednesday, May 12.
Blair Dingwall scored early in the game and Ritchie Callewart added to of his own to move ahead of the Broncos 3-1 going into the second half. Kenora added one more just before the final whistle but the Eagles held them off for the win.
Coach Conor Doherty says the team dominated the game and got the chances they needed up front.
“We dominated possession of the ball and we gave our strikers more opportunities in the other team’s penalty area.”
The game against the Fort Frances Muskies was a different story as the boys fell 4-1. The Muskies scored three goals before Callewart added his third of the day to close the gap to two goals. It wasn’t enough, however, as the Muskies added their fourth, sending the boys to third place.
Doherty says the boys were discouraged from the beginning and need to step up their game if they want to bring down the Muskies.
“We came out flat and we didn’t respond to the energy and the effort that they were putting forth. We sat back and let them jump on us and we didn’t push back.”
Doherty adds that the Muskies’ goaltender made two outstanding saves to secure their lead and the team was discouraged by the two goals they scored early and the team didn’t respond.
The boys will have to refocus for their third and final regular season games against the Muskies and Broncos in Kenora on Wednesday, May 19. The team can’t catch Fort Frances for first place so they will be playing in the semi-final on May 26 in Dryden.
Doherty says the boys will need to really step up their game on?Wednesday if they want to get a win against the Muskies.
“We need to put forth a better effort, we need to communicate better, stay positive throughout the game and be patient and wait for our chances to happen.”
He adds that the older players are going to have to step up and take control of the team to keep them focused throughout the game.
Results were unavailable at press time. Check www.drydenobserver.ca for results and check next week’s print edition of The Dryden Observer for full details.