OAKWOOD — It looked like your typical season opener.
Sloppy at times, miscues due to miscommunication, and lineup changes galore. But even with all that, the Johnson boys still were able to manipulate a 2-0 victory over Jefferson Tuesday night at The Dungeon as they also opened defense of their Class 5A state title.
Both goals came in the second half after a scoreless first 40 minutes. Alex Arellano blasted in a shot with 38:06 left and Edgar Lopez scored on a rebound off a shot by Jose Gomez just over 10 minutes later.
“The first half was very sloppy and we’re also still working on finding the right chemistry,” Johnson coach Brian Shirley said. “A win is always good but this was about what I expected.”
Defensively the Knights (1-0) gave up little to nothing to the Dragons (0-1) within 25 yards of keeper Cooper Bowen. Most of the Dragons offensive attacks came on long free kick blasts from Hayden Kilgore from near midfield. Jefferson had just 1 shot attempt inside the box.
Diego Chavez, Christian Maldonado, and freshman Rudy Granados gobbled up near every ball that came on the Knights side of the field.
“Our back line, and those three in particular played very well,” Shirley said. “Anytime you can give your keeper and easy night that’s what you want.”
The defenses dominated the first 40 minutes as neither team was able to create a sustained attack in a 0-0 draw at intermission.
Both teams had some chances, mainly off long passes or defensive miscues. Johnson had the first three opportunities in the first six minutes with a trio of long-distance shots from 30-yards plus with Rudy Oroco’s blast just sailing high.
The Dragons best early chance came in the 18th minute when Kilgore’s blast from midfield was snared by Cooper Bowen. Bowen made a punch out save two minutes later on another long-distance shot.
Johnson’s best-sustained attack came after a Bowen save and a series of passes that saw Eliam Chavez with a chance just inside the box but he only mounted a weak shot that Javy Flores easily scooped up.
Jefferson then pushed forward over the next 10 minutes taking advantage of several Johnson defensive miscues. The Dragons’ best chance came in the 26th minute when Sean Childs had a pair of shifty moves to feed a nice cross in the box but Patrick Sorah was not able to control it for a shot.
The two teams swapped the only corners in the 34th and 35th minutes but neither could generate a shot. Kilgore again tested Bowen from midfield on a free kick but Bowen was able to outleap two Jefferson attackers to punch the ball out with just two minutes left in the half.
Shirley said they talked adjustments at halftime. They proved fruitful.
Arellano got things going quickly in the second half finding the net on the Knights’ first shot after halftime with his blast past Jefferson keeper Javy Flores.
Johnson continued to press its attack with Lopez banging home a loose ball off a diving Flores save off a blast from 10-yards by Gomez.
“We saw some things we felt we could take advantage of on their defense and I thought we did a much better job on offense in the second half,” Shirley said.
Johnson next will play host to Eastside out of Region 4-4A on Friday.
Jefferson plays host to White County on Friday.
JEFFERSON GIRLS 2,
JOHNSON 0
The Lady Dragons opened the season with a shutout victory on the road.
Savannah Jackson scored midway through the first half to give Jefferson (1-0) a 1-0 lead. The two offenses penetrated the defenses but could not break through until late in the second half when the Lady Dragons put it out of reach.
Ally-Kate Navas found the back of the net with 10:17 left for a 2-0 advantage.
Johnson tried to mount some late attacks but the Jefferson defense was up to the challenge to preserve the shutout.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2019/2/760655/soccer-jhs-boys-open-title-defense-with-win-over-jefferson-lady-dragons-get-shutout-win