Taconic Edges Drury
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The Taconic boys soccer team opened its season on the road Tuesday night, taking down Drury, 2-1, behind a strong defensive performance.
Taconic came out applying pressure early, with its first shot of the game coming after a nice back flick from Samuel Latorre opened up the opportunity, though the attempt was saved.
Taconic would not have to wait long to find the back of the net. In the fifth minute, Taconic continued to control possession through the midfield, linking together several nice passes before sending a cross into the box. Drury goalkeeper Max Soto came off his line, but the ball got through. Drury's Brian Liang attempted to clear it off the line, only to put it into his own net, giving Taconic a 1-0 lead.
Taconic continued to do a good job possessing the ball and switching the field, creating space and keeping Drury on its heels. Goalkeeper William Barber also showed he was not afraid to come off his line, helping the Thunder clean up several balls played in behind the defense.
In the 15th minute, Taconic once again connected on a series of one-two passes, eventually forcing a corner kick and another dangerous attack.
Drury began to grow into the game as the half went on, putting together a few stretches of possession and forcing a couple of relatively easy saves from William Barber.
Taconic nearly doubled its lead when a free kick was sent toward the back post. Soto got a hand to the ball, tipping it away, before the ensuing shot hit the post and stayed out.
Just minutes later, another opportunity came when a great ball was fizzed into the box, but Drury's defense blocked the shot away for another Taconic corner.
Drury responded with a strong stretch of play, including a nice through ball from Isaac Vasquez, but the Blue Devils were unable to turn the opportunity into a goal.
Barber continued to be active off his line. He had one scary moment when he came out to clear a ball, but it deflected back and Barber was able to get a touch on it, resulting in a free kick for Drury. The Blue Devils, however, could not put the opportunity on target.
In the 33rd minute, Drury created its best chance of the opening half. Isaac Vasquez played a nice ball up the line to Noah Arnold, who fired a low shot that Barber got a hand on. The ball then hit the post and went out for a corner. That would end the half, leaving Taconic with a slight 1-0 edge.
Drury came out with pressure to start the second half, creating an early chance with a through ball up the middle. Once again, Barber was there to sweep it up.
The Drury pressure continued, with another opportunity forcing Barber into a double save as he continued to keep Taconic in front. It was only a matter of time before all these squandered chances from Drury would lead to Taconic extending its lead.
Taconic began to pin Drury deeper into its own end and found another chance in front of the net. The Blue Devils cleared the ball away multiple times but could not fully get it out of danger.
That eventually led to another Taconic chance, with Erick Madewell finding Thomas Lopez, who finished the chance to extend the Thunder's lead to 2-0 in the 54th minute.
Drury finally responded shortly after when the Blue Devils won the ball in midfield and once again forced Barber off his line. This time, Arnold gathered the loose ball and sent a shot from about 20 yards out over Barber and into the net.
This brought Drury back within one goal, and the Blue Devils continued to put pressure on Taconic throughout the remainder of the second half, searching for the equalizer.
The Blue Devils created a few more chances, but the Thunder defense and Barber were able to keep them off the scoreboard.
"I'm glad with the final result, but we didn't play the best we could," Taconic head coach Jason Keller said. "We came through enough when we had to, but you can see the youngness of the team. We have some work to do. Our kids are better than how we played today, so we'll get there."
Keller also mentioned how young his backline is and that he will see its progression as the season goes on. As for Drury, this marked not only the first game of the season but also the first game of its co-op with Hoosac Valley.