MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The University High boys’ soccer season opener played more like a final match rather than a regular go around the pitch, as senior forward Riley Nett sank five goals to lead the Hawks (1-0) over a short-handed Preston High, 9-0.
It wasn’t their last game, though, but this week could potentially be one of the last of the season for Monongalia County teams. Knowing this, the ferocity out of the gate and through the entire 80 minutes was one of the first things Knights (0-1) coach Josh Russell talked about after the game.
“I told them coming in, No. 1 it’s Senior Night, No. 2 with Mon County going orange they’re going to play like it’s the Super Bowl,” Russell said. “So we knew coining in it was a tough, tall order, and we played in our defensive formation. We tried to negate Riley Nett’s play, and we played strong. They scored that first really good goal, but we hung with them.”
Nett, who picked up a hat trick in the first half, got the Hawks on the board first in 59 seconds of first kick, sinking a quick shot past backup goalkeeper Laydon Brandt. Brandt, who only started playing soccer last year, would go on to hold off a UHS onslaught, stopping just as many shots as letting in, but the pressure was too great on five drives as the Hawks entered halftime with a comfortable 6-0 lead thanks to four goals by Nett, and one each by senior J.M. Jones and Charlie Walker.
“I think Laydon did a fantastic job,” Russell said. “We worked hard with him for about a week and a half. Yeah, he gave up nine goals but most of them weren’t his fault.”
The Knights fell flat in the second half, whereas Nett, Jones and Walker all tacked on one more goal each to take the lead by the halfway mark of the second half.
“You have to learn from a great team like University and coach Smith,” Russell said. “He’s such a smart guy and a great coach.”
When asked of his top-tier performance, Nett simply said that it was nice to be back and his performance “felt amazing.” Moving forward, however, Nett is concerned – much like his teammates and the community as a whole – about the chances of a season happening. No matter the outcome, he hopes to instill a sense of pride in the program.
“It’s been a while and we’re just staying optimistic,” Nett said. “We’re going to take every game as our last. Try to win every one. This is us, we have to come out and be ready to play.”
UHS coach Michael Smith concurred. With eight seniors on the roster, he wants the best for his team. He also expects the best out of them, namely composure and leadership. That’s especially true of Nett.
“Riley is someone that has taken the goal-scoring role and brought his calm demeanor to it,” Smith said. “You see him receive the ball, there’s no panic and he knows exactly what he’s about to do. He can place the ball well – he just has a nose for goal, a natural knack that not many others have.”
Even though an overwhelming win, Smith is always looking for improvement. He noted a lot of good, but he also sees plenty of room to fine-tune, especially with a game against a tough Wheeling Park team on the road less than 24 hours later.
“I don’t think I’m ever happy. These guys know I expect more of them,” Smith said. “There were flashes of good ball movement, there were things here and there. I think when the goals started going in we had a couple of guys start seeing that goal a little more, which you can appreciate as far as their hunger to score but we also know we have to continue to play our game because we’re right back again tomorrow with another regional opponent. And that’s not going to be 9-0.”
As for Preston, Russell knows what he has to do to prepare his team for a home game against Elkins in its Big 10 opener. Then, he’ll fine-tune for Tuesday’s game against Buckhannon-Upshur. Communication is one area of improvement, as is gaining possession and finding space. This will be key against B-U star forward Ryan Hurst.
“We need to start passing better,” Russell said. “We need to start getting possession. Today with the defensive formation it was hard to do, but we still had opportunities. We had, briefly, their offense flustered and we should have kept capitalizing and we didn’t. We did OK.
“We go from Riley Nett to Ryan Hurst on Tuesday, it’s a good thing we have a game tomorrow to get a break from playing against two of the best players in the state.”
Saves
Brandt was all over saves on Wednesday night, stopping eight shots. University played three different goalkeepers, but none logged saves. The only shot on goal by Preston was a high ball that connected with the goalpost and crossbar.
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