THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Whitney High School Athletics

It took Whitney High boys soccer team 15 ticks more than two minutes to put Woodcreek on the ropes 2-0 Tuesday night, but late goals by the Timberwolves in both the first and second halves helped them escape with a 2-2 tie. From the opening whistle, the Wildcats swamped Woodcreek’s goal. Midfielder Zack Mason then found an opening on his approach from the right of the goal to take an assist from Brandon Sterri. His 15-yard kick found the mark at 36:15 of the first period to give the ‘Cats a 1-0 lead. At 34:30, Sterri got an assist from Nate Sherwood in nearly the same spot where Mason scored and put the ball in from almost the same position to put Whitney up 2-0. Both defenses dug in after that. As the clock moved close to three minutes, a melee ensued in front of the Wildcats’ goal. To assist his defense, goalkeeper Maverick Eaton moved out from the goal only to have an unpredictable bounce leave the ball sitting all alone behind him. From there, Woodcreek’s Trevor Hilton simply rolled it in for the score. “Our starting goalkeeper broke his (wrist bone) playing club soccer; so he’s out for the year,” Whitney head coach Joel Williams said. “(Eaton) is getting there. He’s been having some wonderful, wonderful games, so he’ll get there.” The Wildcats came out in the second half with much the same intensity they showed to begin the match, but the T’Wolves defense held up this time. For more than 37 minutes the two clubs sparred without making a lot of progress on offense. As time ran inside of 10 minutes, Woodcreek picked up the pace and tied the match 2-2 with 6:23 still remaining. Whitney put a rush on the Timberwolves’ goal inside of two minutes and Miguel Saavedra got off a hard kick that ricochet off the goal crossbar where Woodcreek’s goalkeeper was able to cover it. From there, the teams battled to the eventual stalemate. “It was frustrating; we missed three one-on-ones. We had another chance on an open middle we just plain, flat-out missed wide and had another ball go off the crossbar,” Williams said. “I’m more concerned about the two goals we gave up. It was just communication and defensive miscues that’s frustrating.” It was the third Sierra Foothill League team in a row played by the Wildcats, and they will finish preseason at home against Folsom Friday. Whitney tied Oak Ridge 1-1 in El Dorado Hills and defeated Rocklin 3-2 in Thunder Stadium Dec. 9. At 1-0-3, the Wildcats have been playing well against some very tough opponents. Williams said the tough preseason is deliberate so the younger players get used to what it takes to be one of the area’s top soccer teams. “I think we can be pretty good. It’s one of those things; as they get to know each other a little bit they have the potential to be very good,” said Williams. “It’s the kind of club where we could be very, very good. But we have to consistently show up every single day.”

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Whitney High School Athletics

WHITNEY HOLDS ON FOR ITS THIRD TIE OF THE SEASON

JIM LINSDAU

Placer Herald | 12/13/2017

PHOTO CREDIT: Whitney High School Athletics