Last Friday, Starr’s Mill boys soccer shut out visiting Benedictine 4-0 to advance to the AAAA quarterfinals.
“We stayed really strong this game,” senior Nadir Terrera said. “We were really solid in the back.”
The beginning of the game consisted of both teams struggling for control of the ball. Starr’s Mill continuously drove it deep into the field, only for Benedictine to take the ball and start progression on their side.
A constant back-and-forth continued far into the first half, until the 27-minute mark when Terrera scored the game’s first goal. With this, the game exited the awkward stage of alternating momentum and fermenting Starr’s Mill with the lead in the game. Senior Simon Ruiz increased the lead to 2-0 late in the first half.
“We prepped up a fantastic game plan for them,” head coach Aaron Buck said. “The boys did an incredible job executing it.”
Going into the second half, the momentum from the previous half remained. Starr’s Mill controlled the ball with exemplary teamwork, which allowed freshman Gabriel Verez to score a goal early in the half.
Benedictine did not gain many opportunities to score as the Starr’s Mill defense kept the ball on their side of the field. With complete control of the ball, senior Pablo Devarez scored and increased the lead to 4-0.
After Devarez’s score, the rest was just running out the clock to secure the win, 4-0.
“Going 3-0 at the beginning of the second half made the game for us in a lot of ways,” Buck said.
Boys soccer hosts Holy Innocents tonight at 7:30 p.m.