Things were looking pretty good for the Wood River High School boys' soccer team when the Wolverines busted out to a 3-1 first-half lead over the reigning Great Basin West Conference champs from Jerome on Tuesday afternoon.
But Jerome's talented scorers cranked it into high gear in the final 45 minutes, scoring six unanswered goals for a 7-4 victory at South Valley Sports Complex soccer field, Hailey. It was the highest-scoring game in the 17-game, 11-season series between the two schools.
Junior captain Morgan Pike (2 goals), sophomore Bryan Donoso and junior leading scorer Austin Cruz (5 goals) scored for coach Matt Phillips' Wolverines. Junior Fermín Martinez (4 goals), junior Sergio Martinez and junior Gabriel Pulido tallied for Jerome. The Tigers had an own goal on a shot by junior Jovany Ortiz for an early 1-0 lead.
Phillips said, "We played a great first half, won the ball and got back to support each other. Then we fell apart and allowed them (Jerome) to start getting into their game. Jerome is a talented, skilled team with individuals who can do lots of damage—and they did."
Jerome (5-0-1, 2-0-0 league) outshot Wood River 19-11 and 6-4 in corner kicks. Hailey still leads the series 11-5-1, but is winless in the last six games played against Jerome.
But the Wolverines were strong early. Donoso blocked a ball, scooted past the defense and touched Hailey's first goal into the corner at seven minutes. A bang-bang passing play, started on the right by soph Brandon Wade, ended with a pretty pass from Cruz to Pike for a 2-1 lead at 18 minutes.
At the 31-minute mark, Donoso made a slick drop pass to Cruz, who found the top corner for a 3-1 Wood River lead. Four minutes later, Jerome made it 3-2 on a Sergio Mendoza pass to Sergio Martinez for a goal. Then, Fermín Martinez took over the game. He scored four goals in a 19-minute span and put it away.
Cruz's centering pass to Pike made it 7-4 as the game ended.
"We've played 40 minutes, but we haven't put a whole game together yet," said Phillips. "But I'm proud that we're sticking in there and showing we can play with the best."
Wood River (2-4-0, 0-2-0 league) travels to McCall Saturday, Sept. 13 for games with McCall-Donnelly (6-1) at 9 a.m. and Moscow at 1 p.m. The Wolverines visit State 4A consolation champion Burley (4-3-0, 1-1-1) next Tuesday. Burley defeated Minico (4-2-1, 1-1-0) in a 1-0 game Tuesday.
New scorers in 14-0 win
Three Wood River High School players collected their first goals of the season Tuesday during a 14-0 Great Basin West Conference girls' soccer win at Jerome. In all, eight different Wolverines tallied goals.
Sophomores Halsey Pierce (2 goals) and Ellen Davis, and senior Bailey Ireland picked up their first scores. Team-high scorer Tanner Dredge (14 goals) collected her third straight hat trick with three goals and Aimee Evans (9) added two.
Also scoring two goals apiece were KT Martinez and Maddie Kate Currie. Senior defender Sam Johnson added a single for coach Greg Gvozdas' Wolverines (5-1-0, 2-0-0 league). Jerome (0-5-1, 0-1-1 league) has been outscored 51-6 this season.
On Saturday, Wood River travels to McCall for games with the 3A McCall-Donnelly Vandals (11 a.m.) and 4A Moscow Bears (3 p.m.). The Burley Bobcats (0-5-1, 0-1-1) visit Hailey Tuesday for a Great Basin game. Burley lost 2-1 at Minico (1-5-1, 1-1-0) on Tuesday.
Wood River sophomore Bryan Donoso, shown here with the ball during his team’s 2-0 home win over Highland of Pocatello Aug. 26, had a goal and assist in the first half of Tuesday’s 7-4 Wolverine home loss to Jerome. Photo by David N. Seelig
