Battle Ground junior Carson Lundeen collects a pass against Skyview last Friday at Kiggins Bowl last Friday.
Battle Ground senior Jose Antunes collides with Skyview’s goalie while fighting for a corner kick.
Battle Ground boys soccer played 75 minutes of brilliant soccer on the astroturf of Kiggins Bowl last Friday evening against league opponents Skyview.
After a scoreless first half, Battle Ground scored with just over 15 minutes left in the game and on the defensive side, Tiger goalie Nate Leu tracked down save after save as Skyviews relentless offense mounted attack after attack — it seemed the Tigers would hold the Storm at bay and come away with the slim victory.
With time dwindling away Skyview threw everything they had at the Tigers: they pushed their defensive and mid-field players forward, risking a second goal by the Tigers by putting themselves in a more offensive position.
The attack was effective.
Just before the five-minute mark the Storm found the back of the net for the equalizer and within the next 90 seconds scored again to go up 2-1. Minutes later, just before the whistle blew, the Storm found the net one more time for a 3-1 victory.
The Tiger’s inability to stave off the Storm’s late game attack was largely due to their depleted forces. They only had two substitutes in the second half and Head Coach Ed Reinhardt said they simply ran out of gas.
Dealing with injuries wasn’t a surprise element of the game though — it’s been the theme of their season. Before tryouts even started three of returning starters were already injured.
“It’s just been one of the those seasons,” Reinhardt said.
Injuries might be the Tigers’ bane this year, but Reinhardt isn’t packing it in and calling it a lost season. He said their ball movement and their possession-based style of play, which focuses on maintaining possession and control of the game through shorter passes, is improving and he’s confident they can make a run in the playoffs.
“Honestly, if we could get healthy, that’s the only thing,” he said when asked if there were any changes that needed to be made leading toward the postseason.
If they can get and then stay healthy, Reinhardt said there’s no question whether they can make a run at the playoffs.
“We can beat anyone in our division,” he said.
Also a big factor in the second half of the Tigers’ season is the return of junior Carson Lundeen, who was out with a dislocated elbow. He scored the Tigers’ lone goal against the Storm and also against Union three days earlier which led to a 1-0 win.
Lundeen shares his coach’s confidence, remarking that he wants to see the team get better at communicating, but feels they area special group that plays well together and can do some damage in the postseason.
Battle Ground finished 9-4-3 overall last season before losing to Decatur 3-1 in the district tournament. They are 3-7-1 this year.
