Fulton took on a solid Mexico squad on the road today and came away with a 1-0 victory. The win moved the Hornets to 7-3 on the season and 5-0 in the conference.
The Hornets took the field with a somewhat different look today. Zach Thomas took on the challenge of marking Mexico's Christian McKeown -- who scored 19 goals as a freshman last year -- and so the Hornets played in a modified 4-4-2. In addition, the Hornets were without the services of two midfielders, so Chad Davis moved into the center of midfield and Luke Nigus stepped into Davis' spot on the backline.
Despite the new configuration, the Hornets took to it well and took control of the match from the opening whistle. Throughout the first half, superior ball control and solid passing combinations allowed Fulton to mount numerous attacks on the Mexico end. However, the narrow field and an organized Mexico defense meant it was difficult to find the space to get behind the Mexico back line. The Hornets were content to try their luck from distance with their best chances coming of free kicks. Meanwhile the defense did well in containing the Mexico attack, limiting them to just three chances that never really tested keeper Nick Heimericks. The half ended 0-0.
In the second half, the Hornets again had the better chances, but seemed content to play long, hopeful balls to the forwards rather than using a short passing game to unlock the Mexico defense. Ultimately it was a little bit of good fortune and hustle that provided the game winner in the 16th minute. Chad Davis cut inside from the wide midfield and unleashed a powerful shot that was partially blocked. The deflection spun goalward and was headed in, but the scrambling keeper was able to just push it onto the bar. A couple of Hornets crashed the goal with Trevor Neal getting the decisive touch to knock it over the line.
In the JV game that followed, Mexico was forced to rely on several varsity players to round out their depleted roster. Still the Hornets did well, especially the defense. While Hadi Katish and Jonathan Perry performed well in the center of the defense, tracking back to snuff out numerous breakaways, the real hero was Daniel Lair. Playing almost as a sweeper/keeper, he was called upon to come out of goal several times to stop solo runs from the Mexico attackers, often nicking the ball away just in time. Unfortunately, a defensive lapse allowed McKeown to strike a beauty of a shot from outside the box that found the upper 90 to win the shortened game for Mexico.
Fulton will host Moberly on Tuesday night in a contest between the two conference co-leaders (both teams are perfect in conference action). There will be no JV game.
No comments:
Post a Comment