Finding its stride: River View boys soccer staves off Dover comeback

WARSAW — Vince Andrews doesn't have many good memories about playing Dover, regardless of the sport.

That alone made the gritty 2-1 win that his River View boys soccer team garnered on Wednesday night against the visiting Crimson Tornadoes quite enjoyable.

The fact his young team's improvement is resulting in wins against quality competition made it even more satisfying.

The win improved the Black Bears to 5-4-0.

"They've been my nemesis as a coach, so I've always taken it as a peg when we beat those guys," Andrews said of the Tornadoes, who slipped to 5-4-1. "Everyone says we're rebuilding, but I told the guys that just because we're young doesn't mean we're rebuilding."

Early results have been mixed with a roster featuring 11 freshmen and eight sophomores among its 33 players, but they have held their own against the likes of Division I teams Ashland and Dover and Southeast District stalwart Lancaster Fairfield Union, in addition to East District powers Hiland and John Glenn. Andrews said he purposely wanted his team to play strong competition early.

They are no doubt eyeing their only meeting with unbeaten Maysville, the 14th-ranked team in Division II by the Ohio Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association, on Oct. 13 in Warsaw.

Wednesday's win was their third in four games.

"We've had the toughest part of our schedule in the front with a couple of games left to go," Andrews said. "I just told the boys, we just have to keep working and not worry about the record. We're in this to win in the tournament. We want to get out of the district. It was such a heartbreak last year losing to St. Clairsville, that's what they worked for all summer in the weight room and in open fields. They've been focused. I told them it's all going to come together."

Sophomore captain Cael Summers, the cat-quick sparkplug in the middle of the Black Bear midfield, said it's already happening. The team lost eight veteran seniors and knew it simply needed time to find its footing.

"We have a lot of individual talent," Summers said. "We're just learning how to play as a team and it's finally coming together. Our practices have been more strict and I think we're there. We're ready to compete now."

That showed against Dover, already with four games against Division I teams, especially in the first half.

River View scored twice off headers in the first 25 minutes — from freshman Parker Andrews at 25:59 off a pass from Hayden Walters and another from Carter Knicely at 18:01 — to account for all of its offense. It proved just enough.

Meanwhile, the River View defense didn't allow a shot on goal in the final 20 minutes of the first half, leaving the frazzled Tornadoes searching for answers in a spirited halftime discussion between players.

True to form, they responded.

With an increased intensity level carrying much of the play out of the intermission, the Tornadoes finally got within a goal in the 30th minute. It started when when sophomore Evan Burrier took a pass in the midfield, slipped by a trailing defender and scored 1-on-1 with a hard shot that ricocheted off keeper M.J. White.

Six minutes earlier, a header from sophomore captain Laired Williamson saved a goal from close range. Then, senior captain Conner Hooper rifled a hard shot off a free kick from just outside the box. It zipped past an outstretched White, but clanged off the crossbar.

It was that kind of second half for River View, which almost saw its inability to convert on four corner kicks in the final 15 minutes of the first half prove costly. In many respects, they hung on tight down the stretch.

Dover had five corner kicks in the second half, but only one came close to connecting thanks to strong play around the net by River View defenders.

River View just missed an insurance goal when Cael Summers' hard shot off a free kick was barely snagged by the outstretched arms of the keeper in the seventh minute. It was the last shot River View recorded, as it leaned on its defense the rest of the way.

In all, White faced only seven shots on frame.

"We came out in the first half with way more intensity than they did," Summers said. "We kind of caught them off guard. They came out firing (in the second half), but our defense stayed strong the whole half. They scored their first goal and our intensity raised even more. We realized that we needed this win. We started off the season pretty slow and that win meant a lot for us."

sblackbu@gannett.com; Twitter: @SamBlackburnTR

This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: River View boys soccer staves off Dover comeback bid