Wolverines hold Vandals to a 2-2 draw, defeat Emmett 5-0

 Weiser’s varsity boys soccer team took its first draw of the season in Tuesday’s, Sept. 25, home match against SRV conference opponent McCall-Donnelly, catching up and holding the Vandals to a 2-2 tie. The tie moved the Wolverines’ conference record to 3-3-1.

 Midway into the first half the Vandals had gone ahead by 2, but before the halftime whistle Weiser narrowed their lead to 2-1 when senior Jai Cervantes (6) got a pass to the middle where junior striker Julio Hernandez (11) was moving up, shooting the ball into the net past McCall’s big goalie Michael Foster.

 Hernandez tied up the game in the second half, scoring off of a pass from junior Ben Hansen (17). A third Weiser goal opportunity was just barely missed, when Foster made the grab before the kick got past him.

 The Wolverines put up an outstanding defense against the Vandals. Challenging every McCall possession, the Wolverines forced both turnovers and missed shots. Weiser keeper David Hernandez recorded 10 saves over the two halves.

 “The first half was not my brightest,” Henandez told the Signal American. “The second half I persevered through a lot of challenges and feel like I did way better than in the first. It was a good game.”

 Third in SRV standings, the Vandals have tied twice with second place Parma, making this their third tied match of the season. 

 “We tried a new formation,” coach Kathy Bokides told the Signal American. “Everybody was playing new positions. Julio had never played up top, and it worked.”

 “I think the new formation is working really good,” Cervantes said. “We are able to spread out and pass more. I feel like we’re getting better at talking more as a team.”

 Adding to the idea, Matt Perez said, “Obviously, we had our questions about the formation, out of our comfort zone, but I feel like we definitely were able to get used to it. Unfortunately, we were down in the first half, but came back with two goals.”

 “We had another scoring opportunity, but that’s the way it goes,” Bokides added.

Weiser 5, Emmett 0

 The Wolverines picked up a 5-0 SRV conference win in Emmett on Wednesday, Sept. 25, spreading the goals across three Weiser strikers, along with five players each recording an assist.

 Weiser’s first goal was scored off of Carlos Garcia (7) sending a corner kick to Santi Perez (9) for the score.

 With less than five minutes left in the first half, Brandon Munoz (23) was on the right side near the 40-yard line of Emmett’s new turf field. Munoz passed the ball over to Garcia who took about five dribbles to the 20, then kicked the ball high enough to slide into the top of the net just under the crossbar and into the left corner, with Weiser ending the half up 2-0.

 In the second half, Jai Cervantes (6) sent the ball to Perez, who took one shot, then chased the ball down, bringing it back and scoring.

 Cervantes centered a corner kick as Garcia, flanked by Ben Hansen (17), Perez (9), and Dauge McClellan (15). Garcia headed the ball that deflected off of the goalie, but still moving forward, Garcia headed it once more for the score.

 The last goal, Matthew Perez (5) took advantage of a wide open shot, sending it over the keeper to seal the Wolverines 5-0 win.

 In earlier action, Weiser’s junior varsity Wolverines defeated Emmett by 3-2, continuing an undefeated season.

 This week, the Wolverines traveled to The Ambrose School on Tuesday, Oct. 1, and will face the Payette Pirates at home on Thursday, Oct. 3, before finishing up the 2024 regular season next week.