Goodrich’s varsity boys soccer team proved quite a bit this season for being a young team.
Those are the thoughts of Goodrich coach Josh Watson, whose Martians took Frankenmuth to double overtime in district final action Oct. 28. The Eagles? Cameron Thompson scored with 1:09 left in the second overtime, leading Frankenmuth past Goodrich 1-0.
The loss ended the Martians? season at 10-6-4.
Thompson scored off a rebound after Goodrich goalie Andy Krause stopped a shot by Frankenmuth Neil Murely.
‘It was the last kind of goal you want to end your season,? Watson said. ‘It happened to fall on the guy’s foot.?
Watson said the Martians picked up their game in the second half and the two overtime periods after a subpar start in the first half.
‘In the first half, we weren’t as intense as we should have been,? he said. ‘We played much better in the second half. Both teams came to play. The ball just didn’t go in the net for us.?
Watson said a key player missing for the Martians against Frankenmuth was midfielder Dan Eisinger, who was injured in the Martians? district opener Oct. 24 against LakeVille and missed the district semifinal game against Flint Powers as well as the district final against the Eagles.
‘He was sorely missed on Friday,? Watson said.
Despite the loss to Frankenmuth, Watson said he would remember this season as one where the Martians came together as a team toward the end of the season.
‘We stayed up and didn’t go down the past five games,? he said. ‘We played a lot of tough teams this season, and I think that helped us in the end.?
The Martians advanced to the district finals with a 2-1 win against Powers in district semifinal action Oct. 26. Stephen Harlow put the Martians up 1-0 about 15-20 minutes in the game.
After Powers tied things up about five minutes after Goodrich’s first goal, the Martians? Bobby Short scored the winning goal with about 10-12 minutes left in the first half.
With only five seniors graduating from this year’s team, Watson said it was ‘huge? for the Martians to advance to the district finals, and it stands to reason that this year’s experience will benefit the Martians in the future.
The five graduating seniors are goalie Justin vonLinsowe, defenseman Ben O’Morrow, forward/midfielder Duane Engleman, forward Austin Mortimer, and midfielder Stefan Goetz.
Watson said key offseason goals for the Martians are to work on their strength as well as increasing their tactical ability ? in other words, becoming students of the game of soccer.