By Kevin Cunningham
Sports Correspondent
After defeating Division 1 Janesville Craig in the Whitewater High School boys soccer team’s second game of the season, the team sat at 1-1 overall. The focus this past week had shifted to a D-II team in Watertown before getting a D-III opponent in Delavan-Darien.
Against Watertown on Sept. 1, the Whippets were on the road, and its offense never got going. The lone goal of the entire game came in the first half, which was off of a penalty kick.
“We saw quite a few good things throughout the game, but need to clean up some of our passing and work the ball up the field more confidently,” Whippets head coach John Chenoweth said. “At times, particularly in the last 10 minutes of the game, we played with a level of intensity that kept Watertown on their heels.”
The last 10 minutes of pressure wouldn’t be enough, moving the Whippets down to 1-2 overall on the season. Five days later, though, the team opened up with its first home game of 2016.
The Whippets’ opponent in Delavan-Darien, however, is no slouch. The Comets rank as the No. 4 team in the state for all of D-III. The Comets displayed its dominance early and often, getting out to a 5-1 lead by halftime and eventually defeating the Whippets, 8-2.
“The Whippets were ready from the starting whistle and struck early with a goal from Roberto Navejas in the first two minutes of the game,” Chenoweth said. “Unfortunately, over the next 43 minutes, Delavan-Darien was able to score off of several penalty kicks and a direct kick just outside the box.”
Jake Walton then scored the team’s lone second half goal off a penalty kick. Chenoweth said it was a much more competitive game than the score showed, as the team racked up its most shots on goal for the season.
Chenoweth said Alex Vidales also stepped up at the goalkeeper spot after the starting keeper, Michael Fernandez, went down with an injury in the first half. Vidales recorded 10 saves.
The Whippets will get its conference play started on Sept. 8 when the team travels to face Edgerton. After Edgerton, the Whippets will then face another D-I opponent in Beloit Memorial. Following that game is when the team gets into the bulk of its Rock Valley Conference season, starting with Big Foot/Williams Bay on Sept. 15.
