West Liberty High School boys soccer

Offense shines for Comet boys team

Soccer guys open season with 18 goals in two games

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The West Liberty High School boys’ soccer team rolled through Cascade and Tipton last week enroute to a perfect beginning of the season after rain and frigid temperatures played havoc with their initial season opener with Muscatine on March 31.

The 2-0 undefeated Comets outscored their opponents 18-1 in their first two contests and find themselves sitting seventh in the most recent state 1A rankings.

On Monday, April 4, coach Walton Ponce’s Comets made quick work on the Cougars, scoring nine goals in the first half before scoring the 10th and capturing the mercy rule victory.

Senior Jahsiah Galvan led Comet scoring with six goals on six attempts to lead the Comets to victory. He also picked up a pair of assists in the contest.

Josh Zeman scored a pair of goals for the Comets while Diego Sanchez and Juan Bautista also found the net in the victory.

On Friday, the Comets ended their week with a visit from the Tigers. The Comets struck early against their conference foes as Galvan scored in the second minute at 1:14 to give an early 1-0 advantage.

But it was a while before West Liberty could find the back of the net again, junior Joshua Zeman coming through with a goal of his own in the 17th minute at 26:44 before picking up a yellow card in the 19th.

Bruce Songa scored on a penalty kick for the Comets in the 37th minute with just 2:03 remaining to give the Comets a commanding 3-0 lead,

The Tigers were able to grab a goal late in the first half to cut into the Comet lead, but found themselves training 3-1 at half.

Galvan got things going again for the Comets early in the second half, creating his second goal in the 48th minute at 31:14. Senior Felipe Molina banged in a header off the Adriana Frausto corner in the 55th minute and Galvan completed his hat trick with a goal at 24 minutes left.

The Comets scored twice more in the final minutes, once in the 74th off a Diego Hernandez penalty kick and in the 75th with a Juan Bautista goal, cruising to an 8-1 victory behind a solid defense.

The Comets host Monticello Thursday at 6:30 p.m. and Central DeWitt Friday, again at 6:30 p.m., before heading to West Branch Monday, April 18, for a 7 p.m. match with their neighbors. The outing with visiting Muscatine has been reslated for May 3.

Coach Ponce said his team dominated possession against Cascade and had a complete game from his attackers, noting his goalie, Ruben Meraz, was only challenged once in the match.

Against Tipton, the coach complimented the defensive play and putting together a controlling offense in the second half. He said it was good to figure the team's flaws and strengths with the two openers.

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