By Dan Truttschel
Sports correspondent
After a bit of a slow start, the Big Foot-Williams Bay boys soccer team is starting to put some things together.
And it couldn’t have come at a better time.
The Chiefs picked up a pair of much-needed Rock Valley Conference wins last week, starting with a 5-2 decision Sept. 14 at Whitewater, followed by a 1-0 victory Monday over visiting McFarland.
Big Foot is now 3-5-2 overall.
“We knew we needed to win these games to stay in the hunt in the conference, so we were ready,” Big Foot coach Keith Blakeman said. “The players executed and finished the games.”
Against McFarland, the Chiefs and Spartans battled to a scoreless tie until the 69th minute, when Nate Peterson scored an unassisted goal to give Big Foot the victory.
Big Foot had a number of chances to score before Peterson finally cashed one in, Blakeman said.
“We had created enough chances to be ahead by that point but had not finished any,” he said. “Nate was in good position, looking for a pass and was able to tuck the rebound from Eder (Lavariega’s) shot in the goal.”
While the offense had to scratch out one goal, the Chiefs’ defense was solid all night, Blakeman said, led by goalie Alexis Munoz’s seven saves.
In a tight game, that was a big key, he added.
“I thought that we played great defensively as a team,” Blakeman said. “We limited their opportunities and made sure that they had no easy chances.
“We did better at controlling the midfield than we have in some other games. You always need your keeper to come up with two or three key saves to win a match, and Alexis did just that. We’re happy that he was able to get that (shutout).”
While defense was the theme last Monday, the offense took center stage in the win at Whitewater to start the week.
To read the rest of the story pick up a copy of the Sept. 22 Times/Reporter.
