Elizabeth Forward shut down by South Park
By Jose Negron
jnegron@yourmvi.com
Elizabeth Forward’s misfortunes against South Park continued Thursday night as the Warriors suffered a 2-0 setback in a battle between a pair of Section 1-2A unbeatens at Warrior Stadium.
With the loss, EF (4-1, 4-1) has now endured 20 consecutive regular season defeats at the hands of the Eagles (5-0, 4-0) dating back to 2008.
“I feel like we press a little bit and we don’t play relaxed enough,” Elizabeth Forward head coach Doug Finke said. “The boys were hyped up and we feel like we can compete in the section, it’s just about finding the right balance of being excited but still playing under control. We have to be able to do what we do for 80 minutes and dictate the play.”
The Warriors’ downfall was due in large part to their struggles passing the ball.
Finke said the passing wasn’t crisp enough, especially in the first half when EF was forced to spend a majority of the frame in its defensive zone.
“I told the guys we were missing our 5, 10-yard passes, so we’re defending for 10 minutes at a stretch. Then, we get the ball and we’re giving it away too easy and we’re right back to defending,” Finke said. “It’s hard to defend for 80 minutes. We just have to be cleaner with possession.”
The fact that South Park scored less than three minutes into the game didn’t help EF’s chances either as Finke’s group was playing catchup throughout the night.
The Eagles struck with 37:16 on the clock as Austin Lafferty intercepted a pass and fired a shot top right corner past EF goalkeeper Austin Onofrey for a 1-0 lead.
“I think their goal early caught us off guard. We make a mistake in the back and then they hit a 30-yard shot, and it kind of put us back on our heels,” Finke said. “It took us some time to recover, but once we settled down, we were able to create a little bit. I know we’re capable of it, it’s just about being able to do it consistently and limiting our mistakes.”
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