Weeks’ pair leads Eagles over Calvert
North Point boys win fifth straight
By MICHAEL REID mreid@somdnews.com
Austin Weeks recorded the first two-goal game of his career to help red-hot North Point defeat host Calvert 3-1 in a Southern Maryland Athletic Conference nondivision boys soccer matchup Tuesday night.
The Eagles (5-2 overall) have now won five straight games since opening the season with back-to-back losses to Huntingtown and Northern. The win also helped North Point leave Calvert County with a .500 record. The Eagles posted
a 2-1 decision over Patuxent earlier this season.
“Coming out and getting the lead was big because there was kind of a lull there of 20, 30 minutes where were weren’t playing our best soccer,” said North Point head coach Doug DeCook, whose team scored the first three goals of the game on the way to a 3-1 lead at halftime. “We started off slow and then we got the three goals and then we kind of rested and were like, ‘Hey, we got our three’ and then we went back into that lull in the second half.”
Weeks opened the scoring in the third minute when he scored after a failed clearing attempt by the Cavaliers on a long throw-in.
“It was a throw-in and the defender missed it and I just came up and put it in the net,” said Weeks, who now has four goals on the season.
The sophomore tallied again in the 26th minute on an almost mirror image of his first marker to put the Eagles ahead 2-0. Two minutes earlier, Adryan Murphy drilled a low shot past Calvert goalkeeper Jack Pitcher (6 saves).
“The first goals were just simple mistakes, it was indecisiveness and indecision and that’s what’s been plaguing us all season,” Calvert head coach Kevin Streete said. “We’re giving away goals, we’re not making someone work for it. There’s not one goal we’ve given up this season where someone has just worked us and it’s frustrating.”
The Cavaliers (3-5) got on the board in the 33rd minute when Matt Harris raced down the left side and found the far corner.
Calvert much of the momentum the final 40 minutes and had some good chances but were unable to get a ball past North Point goalkeeper Austin Geier (6 saves).
“Give it to Calvert; they have a good squad and they have some people up front that gave our midfield and defense some problems,” said DeCook, who was missing starters Aaron Monegain and Anthony Ford. “It wan’t the prettiest game, but we’re happy to get a W out of it, but I think there’s a lot of learning points we can take out of it.”
Calvert has lost its last four games — including one in overtime to Chopticon — and been outscored 15-4 during that span.
“I was mad at the end of the first half, but at the end of the second half I felt like we won the game,” Streete said. “Mad because it’s the same players making the same mistakes and you tell them and they refuse to listen. But they don’t understand so they’re telling you that this is what they’re going to do and I’m like, ‘No, players play and coaches coach.’ They think there aren’t better players on the bench [and] that now you need me and [I think] that’s a problem that we’re facing with these younger athletes. We’re raising a culture of athletes that haven’t put the work in or haven’t developed their fundamental skills and they think that because they play on a travel team they can do whatever they want. We need to be teaching kids the fundamentals of soccer; passing and receiving. That’s what’s going on and we need to change that culture.”
During their winning streak, the Eagles have three shutouts and have outscored the opposition 26-2.
“Our defense is holding strong,” DeCook said. “They’re working hard and getting better every game and today they had a little letdown from the midfield so they saw some runs coming at them, but I was happy with them. This is my first year taking over the boys [after eight seasons as the girls head coach], but we’re right in the middle of the mix and we’ve got ourselves in a good position to come out of the Potomac side. Our goal is to be better than .500, which they were last year, but we’d like to make a good run in the regionals.”
“Today we could have done a little better,” Weeks said. “Instead of kicking the ball forward we could have played it more and played more as a team. [Offensively] we’re starting to click right now, but I think we can do better at finishing.”
Streete was pleased with his team’s performance over the final 40 minutes.
“The second half you saw a lot of confidence and togetherness,” Streete said. “As soon as we made adjustments, things just changed because what happens is a lot of these kids they get complacent that this is my position and I’m not going to lose it. And now you’ve got kids on the bench … that are hungry and who want to play.”
Calvert junior Michael Wollen said miscues are hurting the team.
“We made three mistakes and [it led to] three goals and it was the difference between a win and a loss,” he said. “Second half, we figured it out and shut them down. The response [in the second half] yes [I was happy with], but the fact we’ve [made mistakes like] this all season I’m sick and tired of it. It needs to change. After one game you make mistakes, OK, first game of the season. Second game maybe, you’re still kind of [adapting], third game honestly you should be done with [making mistakes] and here we are halfway through the season and we’re still making mistakes. That’s a problem. I can’t sugarcoat it. That’s a problem.”