PENTWATER — Pentwater came into Monday's game against Montague
undermanned, with only three substitutes available against the Wildcats'
25-player roster. The Falcons held up for the bulk of the first half,
but eventually tired legs took their toll, and the team took a 5-0
defeat.
The Falcons were down senior Larry Martinez, who
suffered an injury in Saturday's game against Algoma Christian according
to coach Ralph Achterhof. That left the Falcons with three reserves for
the Montague game and put the team in a similar position their first
opponent, Big Rapids Crossroads, faced. Crossroads is trying to keep its
program afloat, Achterhof said, and had only nine players against
Pentwater, so the Falcons played 9-on-9 in an 8-0 win.
Despite
the disadvantage, though, Pentwater was holding the fort down most of
the first half, surrendering one goal in the first 39 minutes, and even
then only after a rebound off Falcon keeper Ben Wisenbaugh. However, a
turning point arrived in the final minute of the half when the Pentwater
defense couldn't corral a loose ball and it ended up on the foot of a
Wildcat foe, who fired it into the net.
"When
you're under pressure the whole time, it's tough," Achterhof said. "On top of that, we
still have to integrate new forwards, figure out who's who, because we
lost Brody (Austin) and Brayden (Stein), who made more than 30 goals last year (between
them). That's a big hole to fill.
"That was our problem tonight. When the
ball
was going forward, it took them about two seconds and the ball was back
on our defense."
Montague then was quick out of the gates in
the second half, scoring twice in the first five minutes to all but
secure the win. The Falcons were able to get a couple of attacks going
later in the game, but the team is still searching for the right
combination as they look to replace the goals scored by Austin and Stein
a year ago. The team has only three seniors and four juniors, so
younger players have to be part of the solution.
One area
where the Falcons have a veteran presence is between the posts, where
Wisenbaugh got the start Monday and played well considering the constant
pressure he was facing. Achterhof said Wisenbaugh would prefer to play
forward, and he's good at that position, but his skills in the net make
there the best spot for him to help the team.
"He saves a ton of chances," Achterhof said.
Pentwater's Gabriel Villarreal (8) tries to get past Montague's Zach Taylor during Monday's game at Pentwater. The Falcons lost, 5-0.
The
Falcons have some younger players who could make a bigger impact as the
season goes along, such as freshman Chase Douglas. Douglas, the coach
said, hasn't practiced yet because he just signed up for the team last
week right before games began, but he got involved on the defensive end.
Fellow freshman David Gaston was also part of the Falcons' defensive
lineup on the left side of the field.
Improvement from those
younger players could ease the pressure on senior Aron Mascorro, the
team's most experienced player and centerpiece of the offense.
"(They put) too much pressure and too much
work on Aron, then he gets tired at some
point and you can't blame the kid," Achterhof said. "Not only does he have to do everything,
every team knows to put a guy on him and make his life miserable. It's going to be tough going."
Reinforcements
for the team include junior Edgar Vazquez, a strong defender, and
sophomore Bennett Bane. Chase McGuire-VanGills, who had a big track
season last spring, could chip in with his athleticism.
One
area the Falcons could improve in is avoiding corner kicks. Widely
considered among the more dangerous plays for a defense because it
allows an opponent to set itself, the corner was a common sight for
Montague Monday, though none of them yielded a goal.
"It's a message we repeat, to kick it
over the sideline, not over the back line," Achterhof said. "You get under pressure,
and they (struggle to remember that)."
With no conference
schedule to speak of - the Falcons and Crossroads are the only West
Michigan D League schools with soccer teams - Pentwater will keep its
focus on game-to-game improvement this season. The in-season series with
Heritage Christian gives the Falcons a benchmark, and later in the
season, the team will have county battles with the Hart JVs and with
Shelby.
"The outlook is game to game, try to compete,"
Achterhof said. "We've got a game Thursday (at Wellspring Prep) and
it's going to be basically just about the same 11. They've got to do
it."
