New Kent boys’ soccer can’t break into win column on Senior Night

New Kent goalie Lucas Bassetti makes a leaping snag to prevent a score.

Robb Johnson photo

As the regular season winded down, New Kent’s Trojans looked for a glimmer of hope to send the Seniors off on a right note on May 11. But while their effort was much improved, the visiting Warhill Lions didn’t play along with the storybook ending.

New Kent fell 6-2 in boys’ soccer action, bringing a close to the chapter of four senior players.

For the first 25 minutes of the contest, New Kent had played evenly with Warhill. But an error by Trojan goalkeeper Lucas Bassetti saw him fall down trying to clear the ball. Instead, it allowed Warhill striker Cameron Bowman to score the first goal of the contest at the 13:10 mark. Less than seven minutes later, Bowman notched his second through a lethargic New Kent defense, a lead the visitors would maintain into halftime.

After Warhill’s Connor Boquist notched goal number three, New Kent finally was able to find the back of the net. Trojan forward Tayten Hybiak received an assist from Connor Bailey to put the hosts on the board just under the 26-minute mark.

Warhill quickly scored again, but New Kent countered with David Whatley’s punt into the net to cut the deficit to two (4-2). But in the end, the Lions maneuvered around an obviously tired New Kent defense as they captured the contest.

New Kent Head Coach Derek Yates spoke about his team not capitalizing on the chances they had in the contest.

“After that second goal, we were down and needed to respond,” he said. “We missed opportunities and even outplayed them.

“However, it’s important to get that first goal because you have an 80-percent chance of winning if you get that first goal,” Yates continued. “We had so many chances in the first half to score that could have changed momentum.”

New Kent concludes its regular season at 4-10-2.