Battle of Painesville goes to Beavers again

Adrian Morales recorded a brace — with a goal in each half — to lead Riverside to its fourth straight win in the Battle of Painesville, 2-0, at archrival Harvey on Sept. 8.

Not that Morales and the Beavers (3-4) needed the reminder, of course. But prior to the match, 24 hours after Riverside extended “The Streak” in football to 26 straight, the value of a result over the Red Raiders (4-3) in soccer was reinforced.

“I find it really big,” Morales said. “All the seniors last year and two years ago and three years ago were texting me today, saying, ‘Keep it going. We’ve got to make it like football — 26 years in a row.’ ”

That will take some time — and Harvey will be determined to have a say in that.

But on this night, the Beavers handled business, especially with a sharp midfield and possession display after halftime.

“I thought the first half was a little rough,” Riverside coach George Kauzljar said. “But the second half, I thought the boys picked it up. It was a nice game of soccer. We knocked the ball around the way we practice, and I think we looked good.”

Morales opened the Beavers’ account in the 19th minute, pouncing on a misdirected header clearance and putting away a tap-in.

Then in the 49th, the standout senior midfielder embarked on a diagonal run into the offensive third. He played a ball for Luke Hackney, who had an initial shot turned away. The carom came out to Morales, who finished a gorgeous rightfooted one-timer from distance low-90.

“I was just reading the ball and saw where it was coming,” Morales said. “I got my body ready for it. The ball came, and I was just ready to smack it low.”

Harvey, seeking its fifth win in the Battle of Painesville since 2009, had its moments in ballwinning and tried to spring the area’s leading scorer Jalen Allen with a new tactical look. But the Red Raiders played overly direct and generated just two shots on target.

“We were struggling getting touches on the ball — getting possession, keeping possession for a while,” Harvey coach Natalie Sisler said. “Once we finally did possess the ball, I think we did a little bit better.

“We’re just struggling with passing the ball in front of people, using the wings instead of the center, and taking good shots.”

Coming soon

For more from this match, including Sisler on her first year guiding the Red Raiders and Kauzljar and Morales on a transitioning Beavers side, check back in the coming days on News-Herald.com and in our print edition.