Wakefield boys soccer
Wakefield's Kevin Kotecki (11) slips past Leesville Road's Chris Hawthorne (7) during Wednesday's Cap-7 Conference soccer match. The Wolverines pulled out a 2-0 win over the Pride.
Judge, Cervantez fuel Wakefield win
With less than 10 minutes remaining in the first half of Wednesday's soccer game at Leesville Road — two minutes after senior Jay Williams crumbled to the ground with a leg injury — Wakefield assistant coach Derek Williams was thinking defensively.
And the strategy definitely had merit.
While Wolverine Ryan Metts stood over a free kick, Williams instructed Vince Cervantez to fall back, and protect a Pride counteract. With Williams sidelined, Leesville might be able to take advantage of Wakefield's lineup change.
But as Metts' kick sailed towards goal, there was Cervantez leaping into the air, challenging Leesville keeper Davis Griffin. The Wakefield senior headed the ball off the crossbar, which fortuitously dropped down to teammate Greg Judge for the point-blank goal and a 1-0 Wolverine lead.
"I told Vince to stay back, and yet he is the one who flicks the ball on," Williams laughed afterward. "Plus, Greg's there, too — another defender. We actually had two defenders push up on the play."
It was a moment that seemed to have a sense of desperation, but also showed the Wolverines' willingness to battle.
Why? Because Wakefield has no other choice, head coach Scott Sloan pointed out.
"We have no other option, there is no breathing room," he said. "Every game is a must-win almost."
Check out highlights from Wednesday's Wakefield/Leesville Road soccer game.
Although Wednesday's 2-0 win over the Pride improves the Wolverines' Cap-7 Conference record to 3-5-1, Wakefield still hasn't overcome its poor 1-5 start and isn't assured a playoff spot.
But the squad's tie with Sanderson last week, and victories over Millbrook — a 5-4 win in overtime Monday — and Leesville has the makings of a noteworthy turnaround.
For Judge, the difference between the first-half Wolverines and second-half Wolverines begins before they even take the field.
"It basically starts with our warm-ups," the senior said. "The first few games we came in all casual, thinking we were one of the top teams in the state and that we didn't have to work hard. We got out there and just about got beat every single game. But now we have gotten a lot more serious. We know we have to work harder."
It's why as Cervantez took to the air, Judge raced in for the clean-up goal.
"I was just thinking crash the goal, and when I saw the ball there I just tried to take advantage of the opportunity," Judge said. "It's important to get that first goal, and go into halftime with the lead. We weren't even playing well before that, and it gave us some confidence going into the second half."
Less than five minutes into the final half, the Wolverines put even more distance between themselves and the Pride. With nearly an identical set-up to the team's first goal, Metts took a free kick from the left side of the field, and Cervantez again tracked it down and headed the ball.
This time, Cervantez found the net.
Leesville Road's Will Bowers (15) takes to the air to head a ball during Wednesday's match.
Wakefield nearly scored a third time off a set play, but Griffin made what Sloan called a "fantastic save," keeping the Wolverines off the board. Griffin —with the help of the goal post — thwarted a penalty kick in the second half as well. Also of note, Pride defender Will Bowers made several standout plays on jumpballs during the contest.
The Wakefield coach lauded his players for attacking the net on the set pieces, explaining "our guys were willing to go to goal and challenge for the ball. Plus, Metts' placement of the ball. I don't think you can ask for anything better."
Coach Williams added another key element to the plays success is "Vince will go up and get anything in the air."
With Jay Williams sidelined, several Wolverines stepped up their play in the captain's absence, including Chris Bostian, Ben Luther, Marcus Mcphun, Zack Spence and Kevin Kotecki.
"Wonderful things can happen — and this isn't a slight against Jay — when you lose a good player because it's interesting to see who is going to step up," Sloan reasoned.
With three conference matches left before the league tournament, the Wolverines can't afford not to step up.
"We talk about it every game," Judge said, discussing the postseason. "The Sanderson game — with its dramatic finish —gave us a little confidence. So did the Millbrook win and tonight. But we still have to take it one game at a time.
"The difference is, right now we are playing as a team, where before we weren't."
The Wolverines look to continue their recent success, hosting Wake Forest-Rolesville Monday, Oct. 12, and visiting Enloe two days later.
At 4-4-1 in conference, Leesville Road still stands in third place heading into Monday's away match at Sanderson. The Pride hosts Millbrook on Wednesday, Oct. 14.
