Washington boys soccer team wins season opener

RIVERSIDE ? The Washington boys soccer team faced Highland for their season opener Friday, March 31, and kicked off the year by getting a 5-1 win over the Huskies.

?It?s always nice to start off with a win,? says coach Sally Hart.

?It?s nice to get the first-game jitters out of the way and we have a conference game Monday.

?So, there?s not a lot of turn around; no time to work out any kinks we had tonight. It?s a good step forward.?

Offensively, there was some nervousness. ?I think our back line had some jitters and we dribbled too much when we got into the box,? Hart says.

?We didn?t take those outside shots soon enough. It was almost like we wanted to walk it all the way into the goal.?

In the first four minutes, the Demons has four shots on goal and that was a point of emphasis for the team.

?We wanted to shoot fast and make sure we zeroed in on the target,? Hart says.

The first goal of the year was made by Abdullah Talal. ?He had a great game,? Hart says.

?We have a couple of other guys did as well. Tony Torres had six shots on goal in the game. He will get to the back of the net if he just finds the corners.?

Talal had a total of two goals in the game as did Caleb Suchan and Mohammed Alghofili.

Many players had a chance to get off the bench and see action in the game as well.

?Knocking in that goal early gave us a cushion to do that,? Hart says. ?If you have that cushion early, you can ease up and relax and play your game. You?re in control.?

There was a total of 25 shots on goal in the game. ?Overall I?m happy with our guys,? Hart says.

?Knocking five goals in isn?t a bad day, but I think we need to come out stronger if we want to win Monday against Keokuk.?

Looking to tonight?s conference game against Keokuk Hart says it won?t be easy.

?Keokuk is always a tough opponent. They?re a big team. They?re physical and we have to make sure we come out as fast and as strong as we did Friday.?

The boys face off against Keokuk starting at 4:30 p.m. at Washington High School.