Vikings hand Saints first loss on soccer pitch this season

By Allen Etzler
Published in Sports on September 17, 2014 1:48 PM

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aetzler@newsargus.com

DUDLEY -- Some of Southern Wayne's best offense this year has stemmed from the back line booting the ball down field and letting striker Peterson Michel run onto it while fighting off defenders and moving toward the goal.

But Tuesday evening, when the Saints' defenders kicked their long balls downfield, nobody was able to track them down. Michel missed the game and was said to be in Florida.

"I don't know exactly where he is," Aguilar said. "I don't know nothing about it. But I know he hasn't been in school, so I can't let him play."

Wherever Michel was, the Saints could have used their top scorer, as they dropped their first game of the season, 3-0, to Eastern Carolina 3-A/4-A Conference foe D.H. Conley.

Saints captain Obens Tilus wouldn't allow the absence of Michel to be an excuse for the loss, however.

Michel, after all, is just one player.

"On a soccer team you have 23 players," Tilus said. "When one isn't playing the others step up, we are all one. We weren't able to do that today and we lost, but that isn't a bad thing. We have work to do."

The Saints (7-1-1 overall, 1-1-0 ECC) played their worst game to date for the first 60 minutes. A normally strong back line led by Tilus was porous at times. The midfield was just a touch off rhythm, and the forwards couldn't break down the Conley defense.

After a tactical change moved Axel Ruiz to right midfielder and Ulyses Mendoza to striker, the Saints' offense became more potent and registered 11 second-half chances. Southern Wayne couldn't find the net.

"(Axel) is always open," Aguilar said. "He was moving down the line and beating defender and getting chances. We just didn't score. But it got better in the second half after the change."

Along with Michel, the Saints lost midfielder Olwin Sanchez Angel for part of the match with a hamstring injury. Sanchez Angel was one of the few Saints midfielders who were able to possess the ball against a scrappy Conley defense.

"We weren't connecting very well," Sanchez Angel said. "We've been doing well in practice, but apparently today wasn't our day."

The Saints' back line made some uncharacteristic mistakes against the Vikings that cost them two goals. They allowed through balls to find Vikings players' feet for them to tuck away easy goals.

Daniel Jacobo scored twice for Conley, while teammate Nate Evans tallied one goal.

"It was really all about capitalizing on those mistakes," D.H. Conley head coach Kurt Garner said. "They had a few mistakes there in the back and were able to take advantage and capitalize."

One bright spot for the Saints, though, was the goalkeeping of Michael Ponce, who had nine saves -- including three on full-extension layouts to stop Vikings shots. He nearly saved Jacobo's last goal as he dove and got a hand on it, but didn't get enough to redirect it.

"It is embarrassing that we (lost) tonight," Tilus said. "It is actually bad. We just have to pick it up and try to win the next game."