Gaels top Bengals in boys soccer
A wind storm and an early second-half deficit weren’t enough to shut down Bishop Gorman’s boys soccer team, as the Gaels came from behind for a 3-1 win over visiting Bonanza on Tuesday.
All four goals came in the second half, with Gorman (8-0-1, 7-0 Southwest League) pressing more players forward in an effort to score.
“It was such a windy day, and we knew we would struggle playing into the wind,” Gaels coach Doug Borgel said. “We pushed three forwards … and worked off their weakness, which we felt was in the back. When we pressured the backs, we really started to see our goals.”
Bonanza (3-2-1, 3-2 Southwest) went up 1-0 in the 53rd minute when midfielder Michael Phillips rushed down the sideline and crossed the ball to forward Alejandro Eugeus, who redirected it into the back of the net.
It was the first time all season the Gaels had trailed, but they quickly responded. After a long corner kick by midfielder Sean Zaher, midfielder Shane Thompson blasted the ball into the upper corner of the goal three minutes later to tie the match.
“It was nice to go down a goal and know we could come back hard and get it back,” Thompson said. “We now know for later on that if we give one up, we can still come back.”
In the 75th minute, Thompson got the winning assist to Tyler Eng, who placed the ball behind a large group of Bengals defenders on the goal line for the 2-1 advantage.
Forward Ramak Roohani scored in the 77th minute off a Fuzzy Orellana assist to cap the win.
“It was a great match,” Borgel said. “Bonanza played a great match; they came in here, took advantage of a good bounce and made us play from behind for the first time all season. We showed good heart and rallied together quick to get three goals and the result.”