Quakers too much for Pats in shutout loss

Brenton Bauerle
Posted 9/22/15

For some teams, it is never too early to go back to the drawing board. Such is the case for the Pilgrim High School boys’ soccer team, as it suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Moses Brown in a …

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Quakers too much for Pats in shutout loss

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For some teams, it is never too early to go back to the drawing board. Such is the case for the Pilgrim High School boys’ soccer team, as it suffered a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Moses Brown in a game that was not as close as the score indicated.

“I told [the players] after the game, we need to get back to the fundamentals,” said Pilgrim head coach Bill Carroll. “We just have to go back to the basics of the game.”

Pilgrim struggled from kickoff to generate scoring opportunities, often turning the ball over in the offensive zone due to careless passing. Even when the Patriots managed to keep possession, it rarely resulted in positive plays; Pilgrim failed to register a shot on goal for most of the opening half, and had only two the entire game.

Moses Brown, on the other hand, seemed on the cusp of scoring on mostly all of their possessions, with a high ball off the crossbar and a bevy of blocked shots keeping Moses Brown off the board – for a short while, at least.

It was only a matter of time until Moses Brown began to cash in its chances, and it looked like the floodgates might open when the Quakers scored on a cross-field kick from the edge of the goalie box 23 minutes into the game, giving them a lead they would never relinquish. Moses Brown failed to score again before half, however, leaving Pilgrim with a one-goal deficit that must have felt gargantuan.

The second half went no better for the Pats, as they were once again constantly under assault. Perhaps due to fatigue, the Pilgrim defense seemed unable to challenge for balls in the air or consistently gain possession, allowing Moses Brown to continually control the pace of the game.

“Matching up and being aware defensively, we need to improve those areas,” said Carroll. “Those are my biggest pet peeves as a coach.”

The Quakers would tack on two more goals – in the 65th and 78th minutes, respectively – but those proved to be little more than cushion, as the Pilgrim offense registered only one shot on goal the rest of the way.

After such a tough loss, a return to the basics may very well be in order. Only time will tell if the solution to Pilgrim’s woes can be as simple as what coach Carroll says they are.

Pilgrim will look to get back on track today at 3:30 p.m. when it hosts 1-3-2 Middletown.

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