Although not feeling his team is at their full potential yet, the West Liberty High School boys’ soccer team of coach Walton Ponce claimed three more victories this past week to roll their season record to a perfect 5-0.
The team outscored their foes 17-2 with wins over Prince of Peace in Bellevue, Central DeWitt and previously unbeaten West Branch. The team has allowed just three goals this year while scoring a total of 35 points offensively.
“I feel like we are getting better,” said veteran coach Walton Ponce, calling the past week a “great team performance” with six different players finding the back of the net.
The coach said he’s patiently awaiting the return of two key players, Juan Mateo and Pascual Pedro, who will be back against Iowa City Regina on Thursday, April 28.
“We are definitely not at our full potential with not having Juan in the roster yet, but the team is building more and more, which hopefully means we are at our peak at the end of the season,” Ponce said. “Teams are definitely going to give us their best knowing our rank and recent history the past two years, so we know that we will be played hard every time we step on the field, but that is a responsibility that we accept.”
The coach said the 2-1 win over now 3-1 West Branch was played in “horrible conditions” on the Bears home field. He said the only mistake was the fact the West Liberty goal keeper “mistouched” the ball, giving it to the Bear’s striker in front of the Comet goal.
“We definitely controlled the game in all aspects, but the wind and field conditions along with West Branch being aggressive and kicking the ball forward as hard as they could every time they had the ball allowed for a game with no rhythm,” Ponce said, pointing out the Comets still found a way to win.
The week started off with a trip to Bellevue to play Prince of Peace. Taking control of the contest early, the Comets found themselves leading 3-0 heading into the halftime break. A further six goals came in the second half as the Comets cruised to a 9-1 victory.
Jahsiah Galvan continued his assaults on the nets, scoring six for the Comets on the evening. Teammates Joshua Zeman, Diego Sanchez, and Juan Bautista all scored a goal for the Comets to cap the night.
Ponce said Galvan brings a physical dominance to the team with his speed and agility, but the coach noted, “I think it is important to point out the players playing well around him making his job a little easier.”
“To reiterate, against Central Dewitt, (6-0 win) we had six different goal scorers,” Ponce continued. “This tells me that everyone is responsible to pitch in the attack for our team. The speed and strength that he (Galvan) provides as our striker does provide us a player that can not only go to goal but hold the ball up in the attacking third as well.”
Thursday’s scheduled contest against Monticello was one of many to fall to the weather early in this season as spring athletes have fought the rain and cold to find time on the fields.
The Comets will take on a loaded slate this week, heading to Columbus Friday, April 22. The game begins at 7 p.m.before the JV boys squad travels to Ft. Madision for a tournament beginning at 9 a.m. Saturday morning.
Comet girls’ soccer play
The West Liberty High School girls’ soccer team fell in their contest this week against Northeast, 3-2. The Comets fall to 1-3 overall on the season.
The Comets headed to Bellevue Tuesday evening to take on the Rebels. It was all Rebels for the first 40 minutes of the contest, as they took a 3-0 advantage into the halftime break.
The Comets battled back in the second half, scoring a pair of goals falling short of the comeback bid.
Thursday’s contest was one of many to fall to the weather early in this season as spring athletes have fought the rain and cold to find time on the fields.
The Comets will take on tough competition this week, hosting Solon Thursday at 5 p.m. followed by a JV match at 6:30 p.m. and heading to Columbus Friday, with the varsity kickoff at 5 p.m. followed by the JV game at 7 p.m. Watch for cancellations or changes in the schedule on the WLCSD website.