Cutthroat unbeaten streak reaches seven
Showdown with Wood River looms
Relying on defense and timely scoring, The
Community School boys' varsity soccer team stretched its unbeaten streak to
seven games Monday with a 2-1 home win over Filer at Browning Field in Elkhorn.
"Man of the Match" Luc McCann heads home the insurance goal during
Saturday’s 3-1 Community School boys’ soccer victory over American Falls
Saturday at Browning Field in Elkhorn. McCann redirected a free kick into the
box taken by Ash Higgins. Express photo by Willy Cook
Senior John Hayes (a team-high 10 goals
season) tallied both Cutthroat goals against a hustling Filer team including his
second game winner in the last three games. Coach Richard Whitelaw’s Cutthroats
(7-1-2, 4-0-1 league) haven’t lost in a month.
With the win, The Community School
(31-0-1, 215-22 scoring advantage in 32 games) remained unbeaten in league play
over three seasons. And this year’s Cutthroat defense has yielded only 11 goals
in 10 games.
More importantly, the Cutthroats kept
their iron curtain intact with a league showdown against arch-rival Wood River
looming on Monday, Oct. 13 at South Valley Sports Complex in Hailey. "And
anything can happen in that one," Whitelaw said.
Wood River (9-3-1, 5-0 league) won an
early-season match-up over the Cutthroats 5-1 at Browning Field, snapping a
six-game winless skid in games against the Sun Valley power. But that was a
non-conference game. Monday’s game counts in league.
So, the winner of Monday’s
Cutthroat-Wolverine clash will take the top seed into the eight-team, single
elimination tournament starting Saturday, Oct. 18 at the home fields of higher
seeds. Championship game of the tourney is Thursday, Oct. 23.
Wood River leads the 21-season series
27-18-3 but has a 15-4-2 edge in games played in Hailey. The scoring is
virtually a dead heat over 48 games—106 goals for Wood River and 105 scored by
the Cutthroats.
Three Cutthroat wins
Whitelaw’s Cutthroat squad posted three
wins recently.
John Hayes scored the game winner in the
76th minute lifting the Cutthroats to a 2-1 league victory over Magic Valley
Christian (3-4-2) Thursday in Twin Falls.
The tight game was scoreless at the half.
Bobby Flanigan ended the deadlock four minutes after intermission, then Michael
Allen of MVC scored a penalty. "Man of the Match" was sweeper Ash Higgins.
Saturday at Browning Field, the Cutthroats
outlasted a young and enthusiastic American Falls squad 3-1. Whitelaw was
excited that his team tallied the decisive goals on set pieces in the second
half.
A Hayes goal in the first half was
equalized by the Beavers for a 1-1 tie at intermission, then a couple of free
kicks served into the box by Ash Higgins led to the tie-breaking goals. On the
first, Flanigan volleyed it home. Center midfielder Luc McCann headed home the
insurance tally.
"Man of the Match," McCann was
"everywhere," for the Cutthroats, Whitelaw said.
Monday against Filer, Hayes scored in the
first half but the surprising Wildcats equalized with a penalty. Although the
Cutthroats dominated the second half, the final 2-1 score wasn’t settled until
Hayes struck 15 minutes from time.
Wood River goes 1-1
Coach Brian Daluiso’s Wolverines started
their week with a 5-2 league triumph at Buhl last Tuesday.
Co-captain K.C. Rivera had a great
offensive day with a three-goal hat trick while Maicol Corrales and Ted
Dankanyin added singles.
It was 3-2 Wood River at the half, Rivera
providing all the early goals before Corrales (21 goals) and Dankanyin put the
lid on the favorable outcome.
Thursday, the Century Diamondbacks
hammered Wood River in the second half and beat the visiting Hailey squad 2-1.
Stopper Willie Meyers scored the only Wood River goal during the 1-1 first half.
Daluiso said, "It was one of our better
first halves, but Century beat us to the ball after halftime."
Wood River travels to Twin Falls today,
Wednesday. The Wolverines and Bruins played to a 4-4 tie in the season opener
Sept. 2 on the Hailey pitch.
Still leading the Idaho 3A power poll is
Payette (11-1), which has allowed only 6 goals in 12 games. The defending state
champion Pirates beat #2-ranked McCall-Donnelly (9-1-2, 5.5 goals per game) by a
3-1 score Sept. 30 in Payette.