GAME PHOTOS: http://smu.gs/2xoGu5l
The offseason was good to Cardinal, as the Huskies showed off an improved short game to take their season opening game against Berkshire 4-1.
Coming off an 8-win campaign in 2016 that included a playoff victory, the first in many years for the program, the Huskies were looking to make a statement to start the year.
They did just that, as Jacob Revak scored a hat trick, including two second half goals that put the game out of the Badger’s reach.
About 10 minutes into the game, the Huskies scored their first goal of the season, thanks to a Todd Wright header, just getting past the outstretched arms of Berkshire sophomore keeper Ben Wasson.
Seven minutes later, Revak banked one in off the crossbar to give Cardinal a commanding 2-0 lead.
Cardinal Head coach Mike Topalian said his team played in control and utilized their short game.
“I thought they were controlled,” said Topalian of both goals. “The forwards and mids were pretty well connected. We used the triangle, simple soccer to move the ball up and down the field, while not doing a whole lot of long passing and tried to maintain the ball.”
Berkshire though, battled back.
A Jacob Hanson goal with 13:31 to play in the first half pulled the Badgers to within a goal at 2-1, and that’s how it would stay heading into halftime.
“I thought we came out okay, but it was strange because we got halfway through the first half and I thought we got flat a little bit,” said Topalian, of his team’s first half performance. “The seniors did a good job bringing it back together in the second half.”
In the second half, Revak’s teammates fed him the ball and he connected on two goals.
The short game that the Huskies worked on the in the offseason paid off.
“Last year we did good, but a lot of it was just long balls,” Revak said. “We wanted to make sure we could start playing off small passes and improve in the midfield.”
Revak said there was a lot of movement in the midfield, which moved the defenders around and helped create openings for him to make runs. The movement, combined with great passes, gave him the opportunities to score.
Fellow Cardinal senior and fellow team captain Nathan Dhayer said the Huskies are building off the success of last year by focusing on fundamentals and communications.
“We lacked a lot of communication [last year], so we’re growing as a team and chemistry and communication helped us get the win.”
Berkshire Assistant coach Gary Wasson, who filled in for head coach Dallas Provost, who could not be at the game, said he saw improvement from the Badgers during the game.
“They started playing together in the last half and were getting the ball down on the ground. We just have to play as a team, not individuals,” Wasson said.
One of the few bright spots for Berkshire was the play of Ben Wasson, son of the assistant coach, who made his debut as goalkeeper.
Ben, who played rec league soccer, was playing in his first ever high school game and made a number of big saves to keep the game close.
GAME PHOTOS: http://smu.gs/2xoGu5l
