Spring Creek stops Raiders

By Andrew Stevens
Published in Sports on September 9, 2009 1:46 PM

• Print
• Email

SEVEN SPRINGS -- Cruising to an 8-0 victory early in the season can be a great confidence booster. Too much of that confidence 24 hours before a trip to Charles B. Aycock can be a bad thing.

Spring Creek scored six goals in the second half and rolled past Midway 8-0 on Tuesday afternoon. The Gators visit Aycock tonight.

Antonio Avila gathered a loose ball inside the 18-yard box and buried a shot in the top left corner to give Spring Creek a 1-0 lead less than eight minutes in.

Five minutes later, Ricardo Rangel kicked home a rebound off a shot from Avila to extend the margin to 2-0.

"We kind of just wanted to move the ball around and keep possession in the first half," said first-year Gators head coach Paul Estrada. "We just went out there and did what we had to do and put two in."

The Raiders missed first-half scoring opportunities when a pair of free kicks from outside the 18-yard box were off the mark, and Wesley Hurley's penalty kick sailed wide.

Avila stretched the lead to 3-0 in the 53rd minute after making a long run with the ball down the near sideline before cutting into the 18-yard box and beating Midway keeper Chris Sanders. Roeli Ramirez scored to cap a string of three goals in four minutes as the lead swelled to 5-0.

Erick Fuentes' goal in the 75th minute completed Spring Creek's offensive display. The Gators (4-0-0 overall) finished with an 18-3 advantage in shots on goal.

Estrada was pleased with the effort he saw from his team, but was concerned with the potential carry over into tonight's contest.

"I'm alright with the game, but there were definitely some things I saw that I didn't like that we need to work on," Estrada said. "The bad thing about a game like this is it gives you kind of a false sense of security. Aycock's not going to roll over. I'm a little worried about our fitness and the whole mental aspect of the game."