by Stephanie Croston, scroston@sewardindependent.com
The Seward boys’ soccer team battled a pair of tough opponents last week and fell short to Lincoln Lutheran 2-0 and to Crete 4-0.
The Jays defeated Holdrege 2-1 on goals by Dominic Torres and Ayden Siebert April 1 in the Bluejay Invite. Gabriel Cobian made seven saves. Seward fell to Omaha Gross 3-1 in game two. Torres scored the Jays’ goal.
Holdrege scored the first goal on a free kick, but Seward was able to convert on some scoring opportunities in the second half to get the win, Coach Jamie Opfer said.
"Really proud of the guys and the way they continue to compete this season," he said. "It was a back and forth game, but our guys were able to come out on top."
Defensively, Opfer cited Lathan Janousek, Daylon Salyer, Cardin Goracke, Josh Keller, Josh Ringler and Lucas Howe for their work communicating and making sure that the team was in the correct defensive position.
"As a defender you don't get a lot of the glory, but I'm really proud of the way this group continues to grow each game," Opfer said.
In the second game against Omaha Gross, Seward started out slow and trailed 2-0 after the first half. Opfer said the team played much better in the second half controlling a lot of the game, but was unable to convert on our scoring opportunities.
"Kenix Leyva Sigala, Ayden Siebert and Austin Rikke have been workhorses in the middle of the field all season long," Opfer said. "I'm really proud of how hard these boys compete each and every game."
Leyva Sigala had four shots on goal against Gross and four shots on goal against Holdrege. Siebert had a goal against Holdrege and five shots against Gross.
"Midfield is a tough position and we ask a lot of our midfielders and they help us transition from offense to defense and winning the 50/50 balls in the middle of the field," Opfer said.
Torres scored Seward's goal against Omaha Gross on a great play where he was able to win a 50/50 ball and place it in the back of the. net. He has three goals on the season.
The Lincoln Lutheran game was moved from March 26 to March 27 because of weather. Opfer said the Jays did a lot of good things, including possess and pass the ball at a high percentage.
“We were unable to finish and get the stops when needed,” he said. “We made a few mistakes, and it cost us the game.”
Cobian finished with eight saves in goal. Siebert, Torres and Leyva Sigala took two shots each, and Kaydon Mueller and Keller had one apiece.
The Jays came back the next day to face an undefeated Crete team and played a defensive game, Opfer said. SHS put an attacker in a defensive position to make Crete work harder for its goals.
“The boys worked hard to try and slow down this dynamic team,” Opfer said
Crete finished with 29 shots and scored four goals, two in each half.
Seward’s next competition is Tuesday, April 9, at York at 5 p.m.
