By DEAN JACKSON
WZBD.com
MONROEVILLE—Circling and attacking. Heritage persistently challenged Bellmont in the first half of Wednesday’s rivalry game in boys soccer.
Knotted at 1-1 for about 25 minutes, there was no lack of activity around the goal.
No less than four legitimate shots misfired or were blocked out of harm’s way, preventing the Patriots from taking the lead—it was only a matter of time.
In the 38th minute, Twa Rit found an open space near the left sideline. He turned on his speed, sliced through two defenders, and placed a shot inside the left post to make it 2-1.
The home team never looked back.
The Patriots (1-0) were too much for Bellmont, outscoring the Braves 3-0 in the second half to claim a 5-1 in their season opener. Bellmont dropped to 0-2.
There were very few first-game issues. Heritage coach Joel Bunnell praised his squad for their effort and execution.
“I told them a three-zero second half was something to be proud of,” Bunnell said. “They started to possess more and trust each other in the ball movement, and the goals are evidence of that.”
He added, “Sometimes we might be a little reluctant and tighten up, and not everyone gets a touch (of the ball). But in the second half, we finally settled into the game how we truly wanted to, and the ball movement was great.”
Rit finished with two goals and two assists. Po La had a goal, and an assist and had seven shots on goal.
“Our two forwards love to have the ball at their feet. They have speed, they have moves, and you’re right, when they do get free, you know, their shots have some weight behind them. So they’re fun to watch; they’re fun to coach.”
Jacob Reece added a goal and an assist. Villads Leed had a goal.
In the second half, Rit scored on a breakaway to build a 3-1 lead in the 41st minute. Later, 49th minute.
Villads Leed got into the action, scoring after taking a corner kick from Jacob Reece.
Reece scored on a rebound inside the five-yard line, which capped the scoring in the 62nd minute. From point-blank distance, Reece snagged a rebound on a shot by Rit, who powered it past the Bellmont goalkeeper.
The Patriots took the lead 1-0 in the 11th minute when Sai Po La found the top right corner with a missile from the 25-yard line.
Bellmont tied it in the 13th minute with midfielder Henry Faurote. The sophomore scored off a corner kick by Jake Hackman in the 13th minute to make it 1-1.
Liam Warren notched three saves. Bellmont finished with four shots on goal.
Xavior Palacios made six saves in his 80 minutes between the posts.
The offense was unstoppable, but the defense was impressive. It starts with the center backs, according to Bunnell.
“Monharmed Ali, Aron Hernandez, and Villas Lead. They like to control and dominate the middle, and they showed it tonight. They don’t want to let balls get by them, and they did a great job.”
Bunnell said he’s seeing something special about his team’s attitude already. It’s a unique collection of guys. They’ve already developed great chemistry and embody a team concept.
“We learned a little bit about ourselves in the scrimmage last Thursday. Maybe they moved a few pieces here and there, but they’re disciplined and working on their talent. They just bring it to the field, and they flow together. It’s not always easy to have two center backs and a defensive hold in mid that are as cohesive and work as well as they do, and almost from, you know, practice number one, you could just kind of tell that we had something special there.
The Braves return to action Wednesday at Snider.
Heritage hosts New Haven tonight in a 5:30 p.m. start.
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