By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
SALEM, Ore.–The Sprague Boys Soccer team were coming off a tough ending to the first half where Springfield scored two goals in the closing ten minutes of the half to take a 2-0 lead into the halftime break.
The Heart. The Passion. The Skill. They were all there in the final 40 minutes of Monday night’s non-league game with the Millers with Sprague trying to mount a comeback at home. Their best soccer is in front of them, not behind them. That philosophy has been something that Head Coach Dwaine Richards has been instilling with his squad from the start, and here they were.
A senior-heavy team, 12 in total that are led by Carson Farwell and Shaun Huskie, the Olympians have high expectations to change the narrative of the program moving beyond this season as they started off the season 2-0. It was the best start for the Sprague squad since 1994.
“The expectations are high. They’ve been high all year. These guys want to do something. They want to do something that hasn’t been done at Sprague in a while. We’re trying to create a culture that’s different than a lot of them are used to. But these guys are doing it. They’re putting in the work, and I’m proud of all of them. When the players win, the coaches win. We got a good team,” said Richards.
Sprague pressured Springfield’s defensive back half and limited the Millers’ runs up field as Springfield had to end the opening half thanks to their midfield. Eventually, the Olympians struck gold with 15 minutes left in the game, in the 65th minute, when Adrian Rico Sanchez got Sprague on the board.
Down 2-1, the Olys looked for the tying goal. but that’s when Springfield started playing the long ball. Sending the ball into Sprague’s defensive half and hoping to find that insurance goal in case the Olympians scored again.
Sprague’s defense clutched up and held them, the Millers, scoreless in the second half. But…so did Springfield. The Millers defense clogged the middle part of the field and kept the box crowded. It kept the Olys from scoring as well as Springfield held on for the 2-1 victory and snapping Sprague’s two-game winning streak.
With Benson, North Eugene and Tigard ahead to close out their non-league slate over the next two weeks, the Olympians will have plenty of chances to turn this anger into possible momentum going into Central Valley Conference play at the end of the month.
“Anger is not our game. It’s a combination of passion, fire, and wanting to get those wins,” starts Richard. “The losses can be motivators…it’s just another log on the fire. We have a lot of logs on the fire, Sprague has lost a lot. The seniors have been on teams that have lost a lot. We have a lot of fuel, so it’s just a matter of getting it all on the fire and not letting the fire burn us.”
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
