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LA SALLE – La Salle-Peru boys soccer coach David Spudic felt his team showed just how well it could play Wednesday.
The Cavaliers controlled possession for the bulk of the game and scored twice in the second half to pull out a 2-1 win over Morris in an Interstate 8 Conference game.
“You can see when we play up to our full potential how we can dominate the game,” Spudic said. “It’s just doing that work and getting more and more consistent each game, especially heading to the postseason.”
The Cavs dominated the time of possession in the first half, but Morris entered the break with a 1-0 lead after Kalen Carver got a through ball from Ben Salzman and found the back of the net with only 1:04 left in the first half.
He almost did it again with 20 seconds remaining, but his shot was stopped by L-P goalkeeper Erick Laurrabaquio-Moscosa.
“We were just looking to connect and get that through ball,” Morris coach David Valdivia said. “I knew it was going to happen. I was just waiting for the opportunity because the ball was bouncing everywhere. I knew [we could score] if we just got that right connection on their half, especially having that wind. That through ball came in, and our striker Kalen Carver scored the goal, then we were able to produce two more opportunities right after that. We just couldn’t finish.”
The Cavs quickly evened the score in the second half as Bryan Gonzalez scored 2:13 into the period.
Seth Adams scored the winner with 18:41 left.
“It was the whole team coming together, moving the ball, talking, passing and that’s when the opportunity comes (to score),” Spudic said.
From there, the Cavaliers continued to limit Morris to improve to 7-4-1 overall and 4-2 in the conference.
“We closed in on balls very quickly, won the 50-50s and didn’t give up pressure,” Spudic said. “Our forwards know when they have the ball in the midfield to put pressure on their backs. When their forwards have it, our midfield puts pressure on their backs, so somebody is always under pressure.”
Morris, which was shorthanded without leading scorer Nick Webber because of injury and with Ryker Anderson limited because of illness, fell to 5-8 overall and 2-4 in Interstate 8 play.
“The last 10 minutes we started playing, and it’s like, ‘Why do we have to get to that point for us to connect like that and move and go to the ball?’” Valdivia said. “But L-P came out with all heart and they won. They wanted it more than us.”