Maconaquah Schools

The MHS Braves’ Soccer Team earned a decisive 6-0 win against TRC foe Rochester on Saturday afternoon. The Braves controlled possession for the entire match which started out fairly physical but tamed down after a pair of yellow cards were handed out to Zebra players within a minute of each other. Scoring started after Gideon Pier played a ball up to Luis Mendoza who bypassed a defender before smashing a left footed goal from outside the 18. The second goal came from a Luis corner kick that flew over a crowd of players in the box before Joe Manueles was able to angle it in while falling to his back. Luis posted a second assist on the third goal of the match that was knocked home by Darwin Aguiriano. Although the score was just 3-0 at half, the Braves had plenty more scoring opportunities, tallying 12 corner kicks in the first half alone. Senior Joel Loshnowsky ended up in the goal on approximately 5 of the corner kicks, unfortunately, the ball didn’t travel into the goal with him. The Braves were able to take advantage on a few more second half corner kicks, as Jaxon Cole and then Levi Merritt were pushed down by Zebra defenders on consecutive corners. The fouls resulted in Penalty Kick goals by Ethan Lee and Levi. Between the two PK goals, Evan Zeiser was able to find Colton Beebe open in the middle for an impressive bending goal. Goalkeeper Brody Kubly’s only touch of the game came on a second half goal kick. Coach Wilhelm said, “Got the win, Joe made a tricycle goal, (nearly an actual bicycle goal), what more could I ask for. ” Coach Sparks commented, “Shout out to referee. The game started pretty physical with some non-soccer type fouls, but the ref controlled it quickly. I’ve always had tremendous respect for the officials.” “MVPs of the Match” – Ethan Lee with his first career goal and Levi Merritt with a goal scored and great defense. The Braves move to 8-1-1 on the season and travel to Peru on Tuesday with a 5:30 pm start time.