Rivas takes control; leads Tigers to opening win over Mustangs
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
DODSONVILLE — The McClain Tigers and Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs went back-and-forth in a battle of league champions from a season ago Monday evening, with the match between the defending South Central Ohio League and Southern Hills League champions.
This time the Tigers, of the SCOL, were led by senior Luis Rivas who scored all three MHS goals for a 3-2 win at Lynchburg-Clay High School.
Rivas scored two second half goals.
"This match went down to the end and we scored when we needed to," MHS coach Shawn Jackson said. "The boys settled in at the end, and we were fortunate to come away with a win."
The Monday season-opening match for both teams was full of physical play for the entire 80 minutes of soccer, but the first goal of the game came with 17:50 left in the first half when Rivas scored the first of his three goals from nearly 15 yards away, kicking the ball at an angle into the left corner of the goal for a 1-0 Tiger advantage.
LC (0-1) answered with 8:56 left in the first half with freshman Alex Pinkerton tying the match with the first goal of his varsity career.
"I was very happy with the way Alex played in his first varsity game," LC head coach Dennis West said.
The second half was full of excitement as the teams tied the score for a second time at 2-2.
Breaking the first tied score (1-1) were the Mustangs with an unassisted goal from senior Wesley Pierson with 12:49 left in the match on a penalty kick.
Then the game went from a 2-1 LC lead to the Rivas show, as the senior put his stamp on the match with consecutive goals less than two minutes apart.
"We played well defensively until they (MHS) moved Rivas away from the middle," West said. "When he moved up, he became a tremendous problem for us that we couldn't handle."
Rivas' second goal of the match tied the score at two at the 10:06 mark of the second half. He scored the eventual game-winning goal with 9:22 remaining.
"Luis is very talented. He's coachable and he was there when we needed him tonight," Jackson said. "He ran the team out on the field … he's a captain, and we really needed him to come out and play like he did. I'm proud of him."
Jackson also spoke about the Tigers' defense.
"Chris Parker and Kaleb Osceola did very well defensively," Jackson said. "I was proud of the fact we talked, and talked a lot to each other on defense. The guys played with a level head, and we had to play well to keep a team like Lynchburg-Clay to just two goals."
At the goal, LC keeper Matthew West finished with 14 saves as the Mustangs were out-shot 32-8 in the match. MHS keeper senior Ryan Case had four saves.
MHS (1-0) will open their SCOL slate of games on Tuesday as they host the London Red Raiders at McClain Field at 5 p.m.
"We are starting the SCOL early this year," Jackson said. "We are going to have to be on our toes. We've had some competitive games with them in the past, and I expect (London) will come out and try to score on us early."
LC will host the Ripley Blue Jays on Wednesday in a non-league game.
West spoke about this being a year of transition for the Mustangs.
"The best way to describe some of our mistakes tonight is growing pains," West said. "We are going to get though that, but we are so young up front. When you are out-shot 32-8, that puts a lot of pressure on your defense.
"We made the same mistakes over and over, but we played hard, and that is the important thing I'm looking for. We have to play more intelligent soccer."
BOX SCORE
MHS 1 2 — 3
LC 1 1 — 2[[In-content Ad]]
This time the Tigers, of the SCOL, were led by senior Luis Rivas who scored all three MHS goals for a 3-2 win at Lynchburg-Clay High School.
Rivas scored two second half goals.
"This match went down to the end and we scored when we needed to," MHS coach Shawn Jackson said. "The boys settled in at the end, and we were fortunate to come away with a win."
The Monday season-opening match for both teams was full of physical play for the entire 80 minutes of soccer, but the first goal of the game came with 17:50 left in the first half when Rivas scored the first of his three goals from nearly 15 yards away, kicking the ball at an angle into the left corner of the goal for a 1-0 Tiger advantage.
LC (0-1) answered with 8:56 left in the first half with freshman Alex Pinkerton tying the match with the first goal of his varsity career.
"I was very happy with the way Alex played in his first varsity game," LC head coach Dennis West said.
The second half was full of excitement as the teams tied the score for a second time at 2-2.
Breaking the first tied score (1-1) were the Mustangs with an unassisted goal from senior Wesley Pierson with 12:49 left in the match on a penalty kick.
Then the game went from a 2-1 LC lead to the Rivas show, as the senior put his stamp on the match with consecutive goals less than two minutes apart.
"We played well defensively until they (MHS) moved Rivas away from the middle," West said. "When he moved up, he became a tremendous problem for us that we couldn't handle."
Rivas' second goal of the match tied the score at two at the 10:06 mark of the second half. He scored the eventual game-winning goal with 9:22 remaining.
"Luis is very talented. He's coachable and he was there when we needed him tonight," Jackson said. "He ran the team out on the field … he's a captain, and we really needed him to come out and play like he did. I'm proud of him."
Jackson also spoke about the Tigers' defense.
"Chris Parker and Kaleb Osceola did very well defensively," Jackson said. "I was proud of the fact we talked, and talked a lot to each other on defense. The guys played with a level head, and we had to play well to keep a team like Lynchburg-Clay to just two goals."
At the goal, LC keeper Matthew West finished with 14 saves as the Mustangs were out-shot 32-8 in the match. MHS keeper senior Ryan Case had four saves.
MHS (1-0) will open their SCOL slate of games on Tuesday as they host the London Red Raiders at McClain Field at 5 p.m.
"We are starting the SCOL early this year," Jackson said. "We are going to have to be on our toes. We've had some competitive games with them in the past, and I expect (London) will come out and try to score on us early."
LC will host the Ripley Blue Jays on Wednesday in a non-league game.
West spoke about this being a year of transition for the Mustangs.
"The best way to describe some of our mistakes tonight is growing pains," West said. "We are going to get though that, but we are so young up front. When you are out-shot 32-8, that puts a lot of pressure on your defense.
"We made the same mistakes over and over, but we played hard, and that is the important thing I'm looking for. We have to play more intelligent soccer."
BOX SCORE
MHS 1 2 — 3
LC 1 1 — 2[[In-content Ad]]