Oneida | “It was a great game between two great teams.”
That's what Oneida coach Derek Keaton said about his team's 3-2 loss to Sweetwater in the season opener on Tuesday (March 12) at Jane Terry Hoffman Field.
Oneida outscored Sweetwater 10-4 in the first half, missing some what Keaton called “quality shots that could have changed the outcome,” but Sweetwater allowed two goals due to breakdowns on defense. decided. Each team scored a goal in the second half, with the Wildcats narrowly escaping with a narrow victory.
“Other than a couple breakdowns (in the first half), our defense played really well,” Keaton said. Regarding the team's offensive efforts, he said: “We have young, inexperienced but very talented players, so scoring in certain places in the first half of the season is sometimes difficult against high-level teams. I knew it would happen,” he added.
Myles Luxton scored in the first half off an assist from Levi James.
In the second half, both teams were tired and it was a battle to the finish line.
“I felt like we had control of the ball for the last 20 minutes of the first half and most of the second half, but we're going to wear them down eventually,” Keaton said.
With 12 minutes left in the game, a handball was called in the box, giving Sweetwater a penalty, which they took advantage of and took a 3-1 lead.
Oneida then scored from a corner kick, with a header from Wyatt Yancey and an assist from George Klein to make it 5-2 with five minutes remaining.
“We had two chances to score and were inside the 18, but on this night we just couldn't execute and capitalize on the chances to score,” Keaton said.
Oneida outscored Sweetwater 21-10 in the game. Gavin Keaton finished with four goals saved.
“Coming into this season, we knew we were going to have some quality teams in the first half of this schedule, and Sweetwater is one of those teams,” Keaton said. “I'm very proud of this team and everything we're building is on May. We're very young and inexperienced in some places, but we'll grow over the next seven weeks. There’s a lot of talent to do that.”
Keaton praised the play of Ruxton, who is still a freshman, along with James Torres and Alex Torres.
“I’m looking forward to seeing this team grow and what kind of team it will become,” he said. “I feel like this team has the potential to improve throughout the season more than any team I’ve coached because of their skill and talent. It's up to us as coaches to get them through the season while maintaining their confidence.”