TENNERTON – Following a tight first half, the game got away from the Buckhannon-Upshur soccer Bucs in their home opener with the Greenbrier East Spartans on Saturday afternoon.
The Bucs trailed by just a 1-0 score at the half but went on to drop a 4-0 decision to the Spartans.
“I thought we came out very strong and aggressive,” remarked B-U head coach Dalton Auvil. “The first half we played very physical and as a unit. We had some great opportunities to score and played some great defense.”
The Bucs have failed to score a goal in their first two games.
“We just have to capitalize when we have those chances on offense,” stated Auvil.
Buckhannon-Upshur was outshot by a 20-5 margin but held a 2-1 margin in corner kicks. The Bucs were guilty of four fouls, while Greenbrier East was called for seven.
B-U keeper Slaton Kowalkoski made 16 saves, while counterpart William Vickers made five for the Spartans.
“I think Slaton played super well in goal; he definitely saved us back there multiple times,” said Auvil. “Greenbrier is a well-coached team with a lot of depth, and on a hot day like it was, they used their depth to their advantage. We will take it one game at a time, look to do some finishing sessions this week as we look to bounce back against a well-coached team with Wheeling Park.“
The Bucs (0-2) will be back on the pitch Tuesday when they visit Wheeling Park at 6 p.m.
The boxscore:
Greenbrier East 1 3 – 4
Buckhannon-Upshur 0 0 – 0
Shots-on-goal – Greenbrier East 20; Buckhannon-Upshur 5
Corner kicks – Greenbrier East 1; Buckhannon-Upshur 2
Fouls – Greenbrier East 7; Buckhannon-Upshur 4
Saves – Greenbrier East: William Vickers 5; Buckhannon-Upshur: Slaton Kowalkoski: 16.
