SOCCER: Avalos, Gators keep Eagles grounded

By Justin Hayes
Published in Sports on September 27, 2016 10:10 AM

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SEVEN SPRINGS -- Run touchlines with reckless abandon.

Play each ball with deft, one-touch class. Shout at one another when necessary.

And when in doubt, fire on goal.

That is the modus operandi this fall on the south end of Wayne County's Highway 11, where the Spring Creek varsity futbol outfit of first-year head coach Mario Aguilar is stockpiling assists, goals and as one might expect, victories.

The club's formulaic approach affirmed as much yesterday, as the Gators dispatched gritty Carolina 1-A foe Rosewood High, 4-nil, on a postcard evening in Seven Springs.

From the outset, the pace was electric.

Led by the on-ball pursuit of Gustavo Avalos and assist-man turned scoring threat Milton Bautista, the Gators established a running, gunning pace in the opening minutes that saw no respite and produced a staggering total of 23 shots on goal for the match.

Rosewood, relying on a myriad of rotating defensive shapes, successfully handled Avalos and Co.'s blink-or-miss attacks throughout the opening minutes, clearing tough possessions and being physical in its own half of the pitch.

But it wouldn't last forever.

Spring Creek's Gabriel Herrera-Soria broke loose on a run-out in the 11th minute, dealing a one-timer past the outstretched gloves of Rosewood's Tucker Chapin.

Following a lengthy stalemate, the Gators struck again, this time on the foot of an Avalos rocket with just 20 seconds remaining in the half.

The late spike by the Gators, which came after yet another Rosewood personnel shift, prompted a harsh bit of halftime counsel by Eagles' head coach Eddie Maldonado.

"Frustrating... frustrating," the coach said, "there's a lot of bickering and fussing... But you give a team like Spring Creek chances, and they're going to put them away."

And put them away, they did.

The Gators, moving swiftly to open the second half, found the net again in the form of Bautista.

After winning possession of a wild header near the 30-yard mark, the junior artfully dribbled past a myriad of Rosewood defenders, slashing a laser in the corner net to provide Spring Creek a commanding 3-0 advantage in the 66th minute.

That mark would hold just briefly, however, as Avalos found a crease in Rosewood's back line and collected his second netter of the day -- his 45th point of the season -- to finish the contest.

Spring Creek 4, Rosewood 0.

"It's pass and give, get open... That's how we work," Aguilar said of his team's play, "no secrets. It's all about, at some point, you have to get rid of the ball... just play their game and have fun."

Indeed.

The victory, Spring Creek's third in a row, moved the club to 8-1-1 overall (3-1 Carolina 1-A).

They will host league foe Hobbton on Wednesday. Rosewood (4-5-0, 0-3 Carolina 1-A) will be the guest of Lakewood.