Hawken eyes better, but will take victory

Hawken got first-half goals from Jackson Goldberg and Danny Ecker and displayed stretches of aesthetically pleasing soccer in a 2-0 win over visiting CVC Chagrin foe Geneva on Sept. 12.

The Hawks (6-1-1) weren’t overly thrilled postmatch, believing the 80 could have been more efficient in the attack.

But the result will help balance out that lament.

“The first two subs I made were the two Rourke brothers (Gavin and Finn),”

THE SCORE HAWKEN 2, GENEVA 0

Hawken coach Vlad Muresan said. “They helped to settle our game a little bit, and then we were able to make better decisions in the final third. Then we scored two goals. Jackson has a knack for scoring, which is good to have.

“Second half, we were professional in our performance. There were times when I felt we could have done more. But like I told them, it’s a good problem to have — you can play better, but you still won, 2-0. You’ve got to take the positives and try to work on the negatives. But we have a good feeling going forward.”

The Hawks grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute. Joey Abrams, who had an outstanding match as a facilitator, served in for Goldberg on a corner, and the sophomore got a touch for his team-leading seventh goal of the fall.

Then with 21 seconds left in the half, Abrams sprung Gavin Rourke with a lovely diagonal ball to the left side of the box, and Ecker was there for a banger on the edge of the six, his fifth goal of 2019. Hawken generated nine shots on target and six corners in the opening 40.

“For the first 40, we really started getting shots in,” Ecker said. “We’ve had a little bit of trouble at times trying to get shots in the beginning of the game. We were kind of working into the game the first 10 minutes. They kept coming at us. Once we get that one shot, then we start growing into the game. That’s what Coach tells us all the time.

“So getting that first goal off the corner kick, last year we did not get goals off set pieces at all. So it’s huge to get those set-piece goals. After that, obviously playing until the whistle, playing until the end. I’ve been injured for a little bit, so getting that goal and getting on the scoresheet in the last 30 seconds is huge for me.”

The Eagles (4-5), with a new-look side after graduating a program-altering senior class, were gutsy in the back and in midfield. Geneva goalkeeper Joe Carley had a nice save in the 23rd minute off an Abrams inswinger that was a particular defensive-third highlight.

“The last minute of a half is always tough to give up a goal,” Eagles coach Jeff Hull said. “It seems like we’ve been doing that a lot this year. But I was really happy with the way we started, first 10-15 minutes. That was very encouraging. And I was really happy with the second 40.

“We’ve had a difficult time this year creating opportunities in every game. That’s been kind of our goal for the season is to get better in that area.”

Coming soon

For more from this match, including Muresan and Ecker discussing the Hawks’ attacking improvement, check back in the coming days on NewsHerald.com and in our print edition.