Davis, Ruffing lead EF boys

Aidan Davis and Carson Ruffing each bagged a brace for the Elizabeth Forward boys soccer team Tuesday night as the Warriors (6-2-1, 5-0-1) defeated visiting Ligonier Valley 5-2 in Section 3-2A play.

“I was pretty pleased tonight,” Elizabeth Forward coach Doug Finke said. “We kind of took what they were giving us because they were sitting deeper and we found our forwards in that pocket there, so I was pleased with how we were playing the ball inside and out as well as some of the runs we were making.”

The Warriors had the majority of the possession as the Rams (5-4, 2-4) were willing to give their forwards space and time to operate, and the victors took advantage.

Ethan Childers also scored a goal and provided two assists for Elizabeth Forward. Bo Hallas and Levi George also tallied assists in the win.

Elizabeth Forward struck first with two quick goals that gave them all the momentum early in the match.

Ruffing scored the first on an assist from Childers after just six minutes. It only took 84 seconds for EF to double its lead as Childers played a pass to Davis who then beat one defender before slotting one past Ligonier Valley goalkeeper Andrew Donaldson to make it 2-0.

The Warriors had the ball for the majority of the half as they searched for a third marker, but Donaldson stood in the way with a few strong saves.

Valerio, Childers and George all had efforts saved in the next 20 minutes as the Elizabeth Forward midfield completely dominated the match and kept the possession.

After a few opportunities, Hallas set up a Ruffing goal with a perfectly- weighted pass that allowed Ruffing to smash it into the bottom left corner of the net first time. That pushed the halftime score to 3-0, but there could have been more markers in the meantime.

With four minutes left in the half, Valerio beat his defender and squared a ball across to Childers, but he was unable to tap it home and eventually fired his effort wide. Then, with under a minute left, Ligonier Valley created its best chance of the half as a ball squirted through the Elizabeth Forward backline and Michael Vargulish-Graver reached it and had a shot that Johnston got down to save.

In the second half, EF picked up right where it left off as a nifty passing display led to another shot from Davis, but it went just wide and failed to trouble Donaldson. Five minutes later, Davis did challenge Donaldson, but the keeper was able to make a save down to his side and keep the score at 3-0.

With 33 minutes left to play, Valerio hit the crossbar with a corner that he played in, but the Warriors were again denied a chance to add to their advantage. Davis continued to fire for EF, but just couldn’t find the back of the net.

Then, against the run of play, it was the Rams that managed their first goal.

Donaldson had a heavy punt that eventually bounced between the Elizabeth Forward center backs until Nathan Pozzuto made a smart decision to head it back to Johnston. Unfortunately for the Warriors, Pozzuto’s header was too soft to get to his keeper, and it turned into a foot race between EF’s keeper and Vargulish- Graver. The Ligonier Valley forward won the foot race and poked it around Johnston before passing it into an open net to make it 3-1.

That mistake could’ve given the Rams confidence and slowed the Warriors down, but EF made sure that didn’t happen.

About 12 seconds later, Childers set up Davis for another strike, and Donaldson had to fish the ball out of his net as an instant reply made the score 4-1 in favor of Elizabeth Forward.

“You definitely want to see a response after (giving up) a goal like that, but that’s what you have to do as a team,” Finke said. “You pick each other up after something like that. It was a good idea, just wasn’t executed well enough. But the way we responded to it was great.”

EF and LV both added a goal before time expired as George picked out Childers who bagged the fifth goal for the Warriors and Vargulish-Graver earned his brace when he chipped a shot over Johnston who was off his line in goal.

Donaldson made several big saves for the Rams before the match ended as the Warriors kept finding ways through the LV backline, but the final scoreline ultimately read 5-2 as EF bumped its winning streak to five matches. The Warriors have won those matches by a combined score of 27-3.

Up next for Elizabeth Forward is the first of two section matches against Seton LaSalle on Thursday. The Warriors are battling at the top of Section 3-2A with Seton and South Park as the three squads have five section wins.

“We have to limit the mistakes,” Finke said about trying to compete for the section title. “Limiting our mistakes in the back is something that we’ve stressed all year. We have to keep that focus for 80 minutes and play with high intensity and play for each other.”