Boys soccer: Packers blow past PIZM
Published 3:56 pm Saturday, September 15, 2012
Austin's Abinyan Lual watches the ball as it falls in front of him as he races with Pine Island/Zumbrota-Mazeppa's Jordan Thiede to the goal in the first half Saturday afternoon. -- Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
The Austin boys soccer team rebounded from its first loss of the season with one of its most impressive wins of the season in Art Hass Stadium Saturday.
The Packers scored five second half goals while playing into the wind as they handed Pine Island-Zumbrota-Mazeppa its worst loss of the season in a 7-0 Austin win.
“This is the most fun we’ve had playing soccer all year,” Austin midfielder Nick Brehmer said. “Everybody was passing the ball and nobody was mad at each other. We were all supportive.”
Francico Torres knocked in a header in the 20th minute and Roel Torres, who had two goals in the win, lined a direct kick into the right corner of the net to make it 2-0 in the 38th minute. The Packers (7-1 overall) put the game away early in the second half as Abinyan Lual scored two of Austin’s four goals in the first 17 minutes of the frame.
Lual, a senior, now has 12 goals this season in his first full year as a varsity player.
“Last year I played varsity in sections and that helped,” Lual said. “This year I’m getting more comfortable and the guys are encouraging me. This was probably our best game of the year.”
Austin's Omot Okello passes the ball forward during the first half Saturday afternoon at Art Hass Stadium.
If Austin didn’t have enough motivation coming off its first loss of the year, it also had the memory of losing to PIZM (6-2 overall) last year in the regular season.
“We remember that game and this was a bit of a revenge win for us,” Brehmer said.
Austin controlled the action throughout the game as it out-shot PIZM 16-2. The Packers offense actually got better in the second half when it was playing against the wind as Jake Hagen-Erickson scored on a breakaway and a point blank shot.
“It was nice that the wind forced us to move the ball around,” Austin head coach Jens Levisen said. “We did a good job of passing and working it up the field.”
Austin (2-1 Big Nine) will host Mankato West (6-1-1 overall, 1-1-1 Big Nine) Tuesday at 7 p.m.
SCORING
First half
(A) Francisco Torres (Rainer Londino-Green) 20th minute
(A) Roel Torres 38th minute
Second half
(A) Abinyan Lual (Francisco Torres) 42nd minute
(A) Roel Torres 44th minute
(A) Jake Hagen-Erickson (Lual) 55th minute
(A) Lual (Rainer Londino Green) 57th minute
(A) Hagen-Erickson (Nick Brehmer) 77th minute
