Weiser loses to McCall at home 2-1

The Wolveriness suffered a loss on Tuesday, Sept. 11, when they played McCall-Donnelly at home for the second time this season. This loss brought their conference record to 2-2-1, and overall record to 2-4-1. 

 The Vandals were more aggressive than the first time the Wolverines played them this season. While Weiser took the first shot on goal, McCall-Donnelly followed up by controlling the ball for the next several minutes. 

 Around 10 minutes in, senior Sergio Orosco made a shot, but it was deflected back into play by the Vandal goalie. McCall-Donnelly took control of the ball and pushed it down the field but defender Manny Perez, junior, was able to clear it from the Weiser side.  

 McCall-Donnelly sophomore Bernard Kindall had an indirect kick off a foul that was narrowly saved by goalie Gabe Rasmussen. 

 Weiser then put the pressure on the Vandals, with freshman midfielder Marcos Tarelo making a shot that was stopped by McCall-Donnelly’s keeper. Orosco kept up the offensive push with a shot at goal, but it went just to the right of the net.

 With just seven minutes left in the first half, Kindall was finally able to make it past Weiser’s defense and get a point on the board for the Vandals. Not long after, a dangerous play was called on Weiser and McCall-Donnelly took a shot at the goal that Rasmussen deflected and junior Bryan Valdivia got clear of the net. Rasmussen had a total of eight saves in the first half.

 The Wolverines became more aggressive and kept the ball on McCall-Donnelly’s side of the field during the first part of the second half. Weiser received a corner kick, taken by sophomore Jordan Watkins, and fellow sophomore Chris Cornejo tried to get the ball in the net, but the Vandal goal keep was able to deflect the ball back into play. 

 Ander Barbot, junior, received a yellow card, the referee calling that his leg was too far off the ground when he went in for a sliding kick. Wolverine keeper Dylan Miranda, sophomore, had a foul called on him in the Weiser box that led to a penalty kick taken by Vandal sophomore Tanner Johnson. A player from each team crossed the line, so the penalty kick was redone. The second shot was taken by Kindall and it was good. This brought the score to 2-0, McCall-Donnelly.

 Junior Conor Marsh was able to set up Orosco for a shot at the goal which was good, and the Wolverines gained a point with only eight minutes remaining in the second half. Weiser tried to keep up the momentum and get one more point on the board, but just couldn’t make it happen. Miranda had six saves for the second half. Final score was 2-1 in favor of McCall-Donnelly. 

 While this was a loss, Coach Kathy Bokides was pleased with the way the boys played. 

 She stated, “We’re improving on communication and passing still. We’re getting more balls into the corner and playing the corner kicks better by crossing over more.”

 Last week the Wolverines had four games total. Bokides spoke about the difficulties the schedule has created for the beginning of the season. 

 “We’re tired and with so many games back to back we haven’t had chances to work on our mistakes.” 

 The next two weeks have just two games each week, which will give Weiser time to practice and improve.

Weiser at Baker City

(Sept. 10)

 The Wolverines went to battle the Baker City Bulldogs on Sept. 10 and walked away with a loss. Both the JV and varsity teams played at the same time, limiting the number of players varsity had available. A challenge faced by both teams was a strong wind, that brought some colder temperatures with it.

 Right from the beginning, the Baker offense came strong. At 13 minutes into play, Baker senior Colton Anderson made a goal from right in front of the net with an assist by fellow senior Omar Benites.

 Weiser had a chance to even up the score after a foul occurred in the Baker goal box.  Cornejo took the shot, but it was deflected by the Baker goal keep.  Cornejo was able to make things happen just minutes later when he dribbled the ball up to the Baker net and took a shot that went in.  This brought the score to a 1-1 tie.

 Miranda racked up 7 saves during the first half of the game. With the help of the defensive line of juniors Manny Perez, Justin Estes, and Valdivia, Miranda kept the score to a tie at the end of the first half. Estes and Baker’s Anderson had a tumble towards the end of the half that was a result from Anderson’s shoelace getting stuck around Estes’s shoe.

 The second half of the game had back and forth action until 14 minutes in. Baker’s Jorge Duran, junior, had a corner kick that was then head bumped in by Anderson. 

 For the rest of the half, Baker kept the action mostly on the Weiser side of the field. Junior Brylan Robb from Baker was able to score at 20 minutes through the half.  

 With 4 minutes left to go, there was a foul in the Weiser goal box that resulted in Baker taking a penalty kick, but it went to the outside right of the net. 

 Baker’s Benites was able to get another goal at the 2 minute mark with a shot that was almost cleared by Tarelo, but it bounced badly off his foot into the goal.

 With just seconds left on the clock, it looked like Cornejo was going to score another goal, but it was invalid after the referees called a dangerous play foul on Weiser. While Baker was able to gain 3 more goals in the second half Rasmussen had 9 saves credited to him. The final score was 4-1, Baker.