Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
The Gentry Pioneers kick off their season opener against the Rogers Heritage Eagles Monday night. It was an intensely rough game. With 26 minutes left in the first half, junior left wing Clay Willis crossed the ball to sophomore right wing Kevin Ochoa for the amazing header into the goal.The Pioneers were up 1-0.
Junior forward Braxton Gunneman was subbed out after he hyperextended his knee but was later back in the game in the second half. With 10 minutes left in the first half, Ochoa, who was playing forward, had another amazing goal. On the defensive side for the first half, the Pioneer senior goalie James Fell had four amazing saves and sophomore left fullback William Barrios played well as a defender stopping a lot of balls going past him. As a team there was great communication from everyone.
Heading into halftime the Pioneers were up 2-0. The Eagles knew they were down big and had to come back hard in this second half. Gunneman came back in the game as a goalie and sent Fell to a defensive middle. The Pioneers started off great! With 32 minutes left in the second half, freshman forward Jason Gomez had an amazing power shot that went in. It was a real battle not letting the War Eagles come back, but the Pioneers got a little tired and let one goal slip.
The Pioneers were able to control the ball and Gunneman had some amazing saves that allowed the Pioneers to win their season opener 3-1.
“We played great and communicated greatly out there on the field. This was a great opener to the season and now on to the next game,” said Ochoa.
“It’s great playing with the team on the field. The way we communicated was amazing and even though our defense got tired towards the end, we played great throughout the game. Now it’s time for Bentonville,” said Barrios.
On Friday, the Pioneers will take on the Bentonville Tigers in Gentry.
