If there were a need for a lesson in how to score goals quickly and effectively, Bow would’ve been the teacher. The lesson plan unfolded in its match on Tuesday.
The Falcons made quick work of visiting Kennett in a 7-0 rout in the Division II preliminary round and now they advance to the quarterfinals.
No. 6 Bow scored in the first 30 seconds of the game when Cal Smith managed to poke the ball ever so slightly through a traffic jam of players in front of the net.
Smith netted his second goal of the game close to the three-minute mark as the Falcons’ offense was persistent in its pressure by forcing the ball outside in and drawing up its midfielders into close striking distance. With wet, natural grass as the playing surface, short passes were critical for Bow’s success as no pass in the opening moments was longer than 10 or 15 yards.
It took close to seven minutes before the Falcons found the back of the net again, only it wasn’t Cal Smith. Instead, Colby Smith hooked a shot into the top left-hand corner of the goal, leaving the Kennett defense no chance at stopping the shot.
Coach George Pinkham was happy to see his team get out to the early start. He cited the Falcons’ atypical offensive struggles toward the end of the regular season.
“We can’t overlook anybody in this tournament,” he said. “I was surprised that they didn’t make any major substitutions, but they stuck to their big guns.”
Already down 3-0 just 10 minutes into the game, it would’ve been easy for Kennett to go back to the drawing board and formulate a new game plan. A 15-minute stalemate eventually occurred, and both sides of the game were starting to surface for the Eagles.
That is until Bow’s Luke Hartshorn and Jurgen Stich scored goals four minutes apart close to the end of the opening period. If that wasn’t enough of a statement, senior John Salerno put the emphatic sixth goal on the board after a shot that went high and right.
The game reached its downward trajectory when Pinkham decided to yank his starters in the 50th minute and the Falcons’ deep bench took the pitch. While there weren’t nearly as many offensive moments – Anish Subhakaran did score the seventh and final goal – it was an important opportunity for Pinkham and his crew to have others play in the game.
“We’re rearing to go (in this tournament),” Pinkham said. “We don’t care who we have to play, we just are happy to move forward.”
Bow’s next opponent, however, is the one opponent this season that Pinkham felt really gave it the works. No. 3 Lebanon awaits the Falcons in Friday’s quarterfinal match. The Raiders (14-2-0) earned a first-round bye and, with the rest and preparation, will be ready for the match. The Raiders previously defeated Bow in the regular-season finale in a 4-0 rout, which is all the more
Friday’s quarterfinal match at Lebanon kicks off at 3 p.m.