WCHS shuts out Lebanon: Guthrie scores both goals in Pioneer victory
Tuesday the Pioneer soccer team picked up its first victory of the season, a 2-0 win on its home field against Lebanon.
“We played a good game tonight,” said coach Charlie Hardee. “Alex Guthrie, Tatsuro Kusunoki and Ben Gretzinger did a good job of controlling the middle of the field. Our effort was much better tonight and the kids played hard the whole game.”
Lebanon’s only big offensive threat in the first half came at the 28-minute mark. A push to the back gave the Blue Devils a penalty kick, but Pioneer goalie Jonathan Bratcher turned the attempt away, keeping the game scoreless.
Three minutes later Oscar Rodriguez found Alex Guthrie breaking down the middle. Guthrie fired a shot, hitting the back of the net to give Warren County a 1-0 lead.
For the next 10 minutes the game was played at mid-field, with both teams trying to find an advantage as defense ruled the game. With 15 minutes to play in the first half Warren County was given a penalty kick. Gretzinger took the shot for the Pioneers, but Lebanon’s goalie stopped it short of the net. At halftime the Pioneers held a 1-0 lead.
The second half started with Warren County turning up the pace on offense. The Pioneers controlled the ball, not giving Lebanon much of a chance to get into any rhythm.
At the 24-minute mark, Guthrie scored his second goal of the night on an assist from Kusunoki to give Warren County a 2-0 lead and a little breathing room.
The Pioneers kept up their aggressive play, but the Blue Devils were running out of time and had to be more aggressive on offense. The Pioneers defense held its ground, however, stopping any offensive attack. Lebanon took a shot with just under five minutes to play but Bratcher kept the Blue Devils off the board.
Warren County controlled the ball for the last five minutes to pick up the win. The Pioneers took 12 shots at goal on the night, with Bratcher picking up three saves.
“They played as a team tonight,” Hardee said. “We had several great plays on offense and did a much better job on defense.
We still have things we have to work on and the kids are working hard everyday to get better. We have to focus on playing smarter, and tonight we did just that.”
WCHS travels to Blackman today for a 7 p.m. District 7-AAA matchup.