By Roger Gordon

Correspondent

Two teammates scoring five goals each in one soccer game likely does not happen too often.

It happened for Field on Tuesday in a 15-1 rout at home over Coventry during the program’s Youth Night.

The Falcons, who were up 11-0 at halftime, upped their record to 4-2.

The two players — both forwards — who hung up five goals apiece were senior Mitch Adams and junior Nathan Fulks. Each also notched an assist.

“Mitch is comfortable in front of the net. He’ll finish one-vs.-one with a keeper,” head coach Evan Young said. “Nate is very good anywhere inside the 18, around the six. He has a quick release, a quick shot. One quick touch and he’s going to blast it. He has pace and a nose for the goal. He’s been killing it lately, has been playing very well. They’re two talented players.”

Junior midfielder Nigam Gajmer scored two goals, while junior forward Ethan Flores-Soler had a goal and an assist. With a single goal were senior center back Cedric Martin and freshman midfielder Paxson Silveus.

Senior defender Wyatt Rahe and junior Tyler Doubrava had two assists apiece, with both of Rahe’s coming off throw-ins.

Five days earlier, on Sept. 4, Field triumphed 7-3 at Springfield, a game in which the Falcons led 6-2 at the half after a slow start.

“We were down 1-0 and 2-1, but then we just went on and dominated the game,” said Young. “Once we got settled in, it was a good game for us.”

Martin turned in a hat trick, all of which were headers.

“Cedric takes things pretty personally,” the coach said. “On Springfield’s first goal, he made a defensive error, and I think that’s what triggered him. He’s a confident player, is physical and is very good in one-on-one duels and 50-50s.”

Fulks had two goals, junior midfielder Kaiden Wilson had a goal and an assist, Adams scored once, Rahe dished out two assists and senior Gavin Phillips notched a single assist.

ROOTSTOWN

It had been a long time since Rootstown had beaten Kirtland, perhaps a quarter of a century.

“It seems like we always lose to Kirtland in the postseason,” head coach Charlie Voth said.

The streak is over.

The Rovers defeated the Hornets 4-1 on Tuesday at home to improve to 5-2 on the season.

“It was the best game we’ve played all year,” said Voth. “There was communication, the kids were talking. I think they’ve figured it out. They’re believing in themselves. They were first to the ball. We had about 15 shots on goal.”

Junior left wing Zach Pastor scored two goals. Tallying a goal apiece were senior center forward Landon Rodstrom and junior center halfback Bryson Scarlett.

Junior goalkeeper Noah Zager had six saves.

“Noah had a stellar performance making the plays he’s supposed to make,” Voth said. “And one of his saves was a truly great save.”

Five days earlier, on Sept. 4, Rootstown won 3-1 at Canton Central Catholic.

“It was a 50-50 game up and down,” said the coach. “Then, all of a sudden, I think we wore them out on the sides. We’re moving the ball really well and creating shots for ourselves. Inside the 18-yard mark — around the box — we were pretty good. Our defense really improved, too. It seems like everything is just starting to mesh really well.”

Pacing the Rovers were sophomore center halfback Dylan Boland, who scored two goals — one a header — and junior striker Sam Textor, who notched a single goal that pretty much sealed the Crusaders’ fate.

“Dylan was moving all over the field — in the air and everywhere else,” said Voth. “Sam is the type of player who moves around players.”

AURORA

Head coach Louis Kastelic and his Aurora players agreed from the get-go that attacking early and often was going to be key in their home game on Tuesday against Copley, especially because of the bagel they hung up Sept. 6 in a scoreless tie at Twinsburg.

Kastelic’s squad did just that — twice actually.

The Greenmen scored 25 seconds into the game. They scored 30 seconds into the second half for a 4-0 lead that would turn into a 7-1 victory that upped their record to 5-1-2.

“We needed to gain our confidence back, and I think we accomplished that,” Kastelic said. “Our offensive attack came back.”

Notching the first hat trick of his high-school career was senior forward Jordan West.

Senior center midfielder Kam Warnke scored twice.

“Jordan’s hat trick was something special for him and me, just knowing how hard he’s worked,” said Kastelic. “Kam did very well. When he and Jordan are going right together, they’re kind of like a dynamic duo. We rely heavily on them.”

With a goal apiece were seniors Adam Charles, a forward, and Owen Peckinpaugh, an outside midfielder.

Defense — on both sides — was the name of the game against the Tigers.

“The back lines of each team weren’t letting anyone through,” said the coach. “Twinsburg had one good scoring opportunity, and we had maybe a half chance that was called back on an offsides penalty.”

Senior goalkeeper Bryce Peckinpaugh made “the save of the year,” according to Kastelic, on the home team’s lone shot on goal.

“The ball was coming across from the left side, and Bryce was headed to the other side,” the coach said. “One of Twinsburg’s players kicked it to the back side, and Bryce just made a kick-save-splits type of action that you’d typically see in hockey.”

KENT ROOSEVELT

Two evenly matched teams, Kent Roosevelt and Barberton, played to a 1-1 tie on Tuesday at Barberton. The Rough Riders are now 3-1-2 on the season.

“Barberton is very senior-heavy. They have a lot of experience, and it showed,” head coach Garyn Daniels said. “It was a very physical game with a lot of fouls. Both teams competed

hard, both teams had chances, both goalkeepers played extremely well.”

Junior Eli Barkley, Kent Roosevelt’s goalkeeper, shined with seven saves.

“Eli was a little bit under the weather before the game, but I thought he played well,” said Daniels. “He kept us in the game, especially with a lot of big saves in the second half. He was the big reason we tied that game.”

Sophomore midfielder Callaghan Knapp scored the Rough Riders’ only goal, which came in the second half and tied the score.

Five days earlier, on Sept. 4, Kent Roosevelt won 5-0 at home over Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary.

“I thought the guys did a good job of putting pressure on St. V-St. M right out the gate,” said the coach. “We were able to press high up on the field and win the ball a lot while attacking. We were able to convert our chances, and defensively we were strong in the back.”

Pacing the Rough Riders were senior right winger Simon Khan, who scored two goals, and Knapp, who had a goal and two assists.

“Simon is definitely somebody who starts a lot of our attacks,” Daniels said. “He’s very quick on the wing. Both of his goals were very clinical. I thought we found his feet a lot and were able to attack a lot down his side. He did a very good job of forcing the issue even though the defense was sitting deep on its line; it created opportunities for us.

“Callaghan has been playing extremely well. When we find his feet, we have success. His decision-making was extremely good. The goal he scored was a heck of a shot. He turned at the top of the box and was able to put the ball top left, a beautiful goal. He’s just come on very strong this year. I’m very excited about his progress. He’s been a difference make in the middle of the field for us.”

Junior left winger Isan Roberts had a goal and an assist. With a single goal was senior right striker Angello Lugo Nino, and with one assist was sophomore outside back Cameron Lowe.

RAVENNA

Ravenna’s 5-1 victory Sept. 6 at Niles McKinley was sandwiched between a pair of shutout defeats — 10-0 at home Sept. 4 to Cloverleaf and 6-0 on Tuesday at Springfield. The Ravens are now 2-5-1 on the season.

In the win over the Red Dragons, seniors Preston Hatcher, a midfielder, and Jose Carpenter, a forward, led the way for Ravenna. Each scored a goal, but contributed leadership wise, too.

“They played their positions well and also stepped up verbally,” head coach Eric Hedge said.

Scoring a goal apiece were freshmen midfielders Tay Askew and Kael Jordan — plus classmate Lincoln Smith, a forward.

Sophomore goalkeeper Johnny Adams tallied a dozen saves.

“Johnny continues to work hard,” said Hedge, “and is getting better every game.”

According to the coach, it was just a well-rounded game for his team: “Defensively, we stepped up, too.”

The two losses found the Ravens behind by halftime, trailing the Colts 8-0 and Spartans 5-0 at the breaks.

“Cloverleaf is just a bigger school,” said the coach. “They’ve been a powerhouse for years, and they continue to be. We were just outmatched in all areas. It was a simple case of David vs. Goliath and Goliath wins. The first half against Springfield, we played super flat. Springfield is vastly improved, a big, fast team.”

SOUTHEAST

Yes, Southeast has lost its first six games of the season.

Yes, the Pirates are a young team with little varsity experience.

But, no, head coach Curtis Ahrens’ team is not giving up.

Four of Southeast’s defeats have been close contests. The Pirates’ latest quests for victory No. 1 — both tight games — came by a 3-1 score Sept. 8 at Mineral Ridge and a 2-1 score Sept. 3 at home to Newton Falls.

Freshman forward Jackson Oyster scored to give Southeast a 1-0 halftime lead over the Tigers.

“We missed a penalty kick that would’ve put us up 2-0 in the first half,” Ahrens said.

“Then, in the second half, we beat ourselves with positioning, and Newton Falls just came out, worked hard and beat us in that second half.”

Ahrens and his players watched some serious film of the Newton Falls game to ready themselves for the tussle against the Rams.

“We really broke down what we needed to work on,” said the coach.

After spotting Mineral Ridge a 2-0 lead at the half, Southeast came out like gangbusters, starting with a goal by sophomore forward Bradley Dillon just 30 seconds into the second stanza.

“We were happy,” Ahrens said, “with how the boys responded to what we needed to work on — our positioning was much better, we were in the right places at the right time, mentally we were prepared for Mineral Ridge. Mineral Ridge is twice the team Newton Falls is. The boys didn’t give up.”

Mineral Ridge’s third goal didn’t come until there were five minutes to go in the game.

“That second half, the boys didn’t give up. We certainly held our own,” said Ahrens. “It wasn’t enough to win the game, but there were definitely some positives.”

The coach believes his squad will continue to be right in the mix for the most part the rest of the season: “It’s just a matter of ‘Can we get on the winning side or get that tie to get that momentum going’?”

GARFIELD

The last few seasons have been tough for Garfield and this season has been a repeat.

It’s simple. The numbers are down.

“We had only nine players for our first game of the season,” head coach Theo Cebulla.

The team is young and inexperienced, with only two seniors and seven freshmen, including talented midfielders Nate Grabowski and Colton Criblez.

“The problem is, there’s no feeder program,” said Cebulla. “They used to have the Garrettsville-Windham Soccer League, which was gangbusters.”

Unfortunately, that junior program eventually fizzled out.

“No effort was really put into keeping anything going,” said the coach, who is trying his best to get area youngsters interested in soccer by having soccer camps during the spring.

“It’s to let the younger kids experience soccer, learn some skills and have some fun.”