Wolverines getting ready for district playoffs

Weiser’s Wolverine boys’ varsity soccer team brought home an exciting 5-2 win over The Ambrose School in Meridian on Tuesday, Oct. 2, making it the second win in a row away from home with a score of five.

 Scoring for the Wolverines in the 80-minute bout were Santi Perez (9) and Julio Hernandez (11) with two goals each, and another by Dauge McClellan (15). Hernandez and McClellan each recorded two assists, and Matthew Perez (5) helped out on one of the goals.

 Weiser posted three goals in the first half, scored by McClellan, Hernandez, and Perez, while Ambrose scored one in each half. Hernandez booted the ball in from the left side, and Perez made a score on the right. Weiser’s goalkeeper David Hernandez recorded 13 saves in the win.

 Tuesday’s win put the Wolverines in a 5-3-1 conference record tie with Payette’s Pirates, so both teams were in the hunt for a win going into Thursday’s matchup between the two schools.

 In their first contest in Payette back on Sept. 10, the Pirates came out on top with a 2-1 win after Weiser missed a penalty kick that would have tied the game just minutes before it ended.

 On Thursday, the Wolverines went into a 2-0 lead in the first half with Luke Brunson (8) and Dauge McClellan (15) scoring within minutes of each other.

 Going into the game, Weiser was down a few players from the team roster, and a number from the junior varsity stepped up to help out. The JV team had just taken a 3-0 win over Payette’s JV. 

 Whatever the conversation was in the Pirates camp during halftime fired them up and it wasn’t long into the second 40 minutes they made a successful attack to get on the board. 

 Weiser answered when Jai Cervantes (6) scored from the middle a few feet past the 18-yard line. The kick sent the ball on a curve to the top left of the frame around the Pirate goalie into the net behind him, putting Weiser up 3-1.

 Stealing and turning the ball, Weiser’s shots on goal added up, but without adding goals. Meanwhile, the Pirates managed to tie the game up at 3-3. Then, an attack off of a corner kick just ahead of the final whistle landed a fourth shot, ending with another one-point Payette win.

 Talking with her disappointed team after the game, coach Kathy Bokides thanked the junior varsity players for their help.

 “If you guys hadn’t been here tonight, we wouldn’t have had enough players on the field,” she said. “We got some injuries, we got cramps, we did a great job. You guys keep your heads up.

 “You guys scored three goals tonight, five against Ambrose, and five in Emmett,” Bokides added. “So, you’re scoring.” 

 Assistant coach Zach Rose pointed out Weiser’s scores are coming from numerous players. 

 “Right,” Bokides said. “We know who to watch on some of these other teams, but on your team you have a lot of people for them to watch. You guys keep it up. I’m proud of you and that was awesome.”

 “The only reason they beat you is because we weren’t at our full strength,” Rose said. “When we’re at our full strength you can beat this team. I believe in you guys.”

 A team captain, Matthew Perez expressed, “Despite the outcome, I’m really proud of you guys. We can learn from this, our mistakes. We played a great game. We’ve got to bounce back and show them we can keep winning.”

 “Sometimes you have to accept you can’t win all of the time,” Cervantes told the Signal American. “I promise you, Weiser boys will come back. The job isn’t finished, and we will bounce back after that disappointing loss.”

 The Wolverines will start District playoffs on Saturday, Oct. 12, with their final seeding being determined this week in games against Fruitland on Tuesday, Oct. 8, and at home against Parma on Thursday, Oct. 10, which will include a senior night celebration. The teams finishing the tournament in first and second place will be heading to state championships in Post Falls Oct. 24-26.