Cavs thwart Trojan bid for first victory

Four minutes into their soccer clash with King William’s invading Cavaliers, New Kent’s Trojans took a 1-0 lead. And for the next 73 minutes, the hosts nursed that advantage, holding off every Cav offensive threat.

Unfortunately, a high school soccer game spans 80 minutes. With just over three minutes to go, King William took advantage of a Trojan tripping violation with a direct free kick that sailed into the net. New Kent, in search of its first win of the season, had to settle for a 1-1 tie.

“It was a clear foul,” Trojan coach Craig Aliff said after last Friday’s non-district match. “But it was a foul that had to be made because their kid was going to the keeper and had a clear shot.”

Entering at 0-6, the Trojans were not only after that elusive first win but revenge for a 3-0 loss at King William the week before. But the hosts also entered shorthanded with five players, including three starters, out of the lineup.

“We’ve got some injuries, but the people we subbed in played well,” Aliff said. “The team stepped up big time and played hard and worked hard the whole time. The starting 11 knew they’d have to play a lot of minutes and probably play the whole game.”

Aliff said he changed formations from the first encounter to throw off the Cavaliers, and the strategy worked.

“They didn’t break us down like they did last week,” he said.

New Kent moved in front just under four minutes into the game when forward Reid Horton blasted a long-range shot that hooked over keeper Justin Hutcheson’s head for the 1-0 lead.

The teams battled to a standstill until 3:10 remained in the game. Renato Siqueira’s free kick sailed beyond keeper Jeff Williams reach to create the final deadlock.

New Kent pressured the Cav goal in the final minutes. Horton had what appeared to be an open shot, but Cav defenders recovered in time to block the effort. Then with 1:30 to go, forward Ryan Nice dribbled past a Cav fullback to challenge Hutcheson one-on-one, but drilled the ball into the keeper’s arms.

For the night, King William managed a 15-12 edge in shots on goal. Williams made 10 saves while Hutcheson was credited with five.