KINGWOOD, W.Va. – It took the Preston High boys’ soccer team nearly the entire first half to wake up, but after two goals by visiting Lewis County things began to click. Unfortunately, even with a nice early goal in the second half by the Knights (0-3), Lewis County powered ahead for a 3-1 road win.
“A lot of good stuff if we had played 80 minutes,” Preston coach Josh Russell said. “The first half we were incredibly sloppy – we came out slow and were just not in the game. After they scored the second goal, we decided to start playing. At the half, I said, ‘I’m sick of this one-half team stuff,’ and we came out and played a lot better. Of course, getting that goal was a huge lift.”
To their credit, the Knights defense maintained their posture throughout most of the first half, only giving up the first goal to the Minutemen (2-1) with 15 minutes remaining. Even then, it was on a deflected direct kick off Bryson Blosser’s thigh, knocked in by Josh Burnside. Burnside would go on to knock in an uncontested penalty kick to put the Minutemen up 2-0 with 7:36 left in the half.
After getting into the groove of things in the final minutes of the first half, plus a boost from Russell in the halftime huddle, Andrew Foreman put a rebound in the back of the net following a direct kick. The quick second-half goal gave energy to the Knights who had plenty of great connections down the wings, but unable to finish on the attack was critical in the eventual loss.
Finishing at the net has been a key piece of practice, but Russell notes that it’s a product of being early in the season.
“We’ve been working on it and we’re close,” he said. “We’re so close to getting that one last pass or connecting that one last thing.”
During the game, Russell could be overheard saying Blosser was the “game MVP,” which rung true throughout the 80 minutes. From the start, Blosser was keyed in and a strong defender in the center back spot, getting crucial stops and helping jumpstart many of the Knights long drives downfield. Russell noted after the game that Blosser, a senior, will be integral moving forward.
“He was a defensive force out there. The amazing thing about him is that this is his second year ever playing soccer,” Russell said. “He’s been playing much better. He had a yellow card, which was a mental error, but other than that he was a true warrior today. I couldn’t be prouder of the back four and especially Bryson.”
PHS goalkeeper Jaytee Flores was credited with eight saves on 10 shots on goal.
Moving forward, Russell notes he needs to get his team to string it all together. The Knights will work on transitions and working on their 80-minute game before their game against Brooke on Saturday. Kick is set for 11 a.m.
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