PENTWATER — Montague spread the ball around well against an
undermanned Pentwater squad Monday, securing a 5-0 victory to improve to
2-1 on the season.
The Wildcats took a while to get going as
they tried to break through a stubborn Falcon defense. They finally got
on the board with 16:21 left in the first half when Aryk Wood chased
down his own rebound shot and fired it past the Falcon keeper.
"We were in this rush mentality of trying to just shoot from distance, and their keeper
is very good," Mahoney said. "We finally got a couple kids crashing on some deflection
shots, and
that's what got us going.
The message preached on the
sideline was patience, which isn't always the easiest one to send for a
team that is still young, with only six seniors. The Wildcats did
eventually start spreading the field and creating alleys for themselves,
though.
"You've got to possess it
and pass it around and move the ball," Mahoney said. "You do that and one, it wears
them out and they have low numbers and two, it just opens things
up. We had a couple times you could see at the end where we got
too bunched. You've got to get wide. You've got to use the
width of the field."
Montague was rewarded with a goal when
the Falcon defense was unable to corral the ball as it bounced around in
traffic in the final minute of the first half. Eventually, Zach Taylor
came up with it and scored to make it a 2-0 Wildcats' edge.
Montague's Mason Anderson gets past Pentwater defender Christopher Jeruzal during Monday's game.
The
second half was much more in Montague's favor as the Wildcats flexed
their manpower advantage. They had 25 rostered players for the game,
while Pentwater was playing with only three subs. The 'Cats pushed in
two goals in the first eight minutes of the second half, one on a
perfectly placed shot by Jonah Henderson and another when a Pentwater
handball in the box ended up deflecting into the net. Because it went in
the goal, the officials awarded Montague the goal rather than enforcing
the violation, which normally carries a penalty kick.
Henderson
and Austin White were two of the constants amid a Montague offense that
passed the ball around to just about every player on the roster at one
point or another. The Wildcats did well to work around the absence of
injured center back Steven Aebig, using a committee approach to do so.
Mason Anderson got the first crack at it before later moving into an
offensive position, but liberal substitutions meant Montague
experimented with many lineups.
Brendan Trevino provided
Montague's final goal, another impressive shot, late in the second half.
From there, the Wildcats emptied their bench and got a good look at
players who may not get as many chances to play against the tougher
opponents they face later in the season, but need to stay ready in case
of injury.
"It's tough when you're on a team, and (players
think,) 'I only
trust these three kids,' and they go to pass to them, and if anybody
else is open, you don't have to guard them because
they're never going to pass to them," Mahoney said. "Going forward, that's what we need
to do. We need to trust our teammates. We need to be
able to pass to anybody on the squad, which we did."
Junior
keeper Ethan Balon picked up the shutout in goal, and Montague's strong
defense meant Balon didn't have to stretch himself for many saves.
Mahoney said Balon's communication and footwork are assets that have
made him the Wildcats' starting keeper to open the season.
