Richard Smith

West Valley Preps

Liberty boys soccer did not have many scoring chances Tuesday night at Ironwood, and the Lions missed a golden chance early.

But when an even better opportunity showed up on their doorstep, the visitors were in position to pounce.

In the 52nd minute Liberty lobbed a long ball into the box that bounced over the head of junior goalkeeper Brian Knight and bounced off the right post. Junior defender Matthew Smith had sprinted downfield and was in position to tap in what turned out to be the evening's only goal in a 1-0 Liberty win.

"We've had some bad luck. In the Glendale game we had a couple easy shots that didn't go our way. Finishing has been an issue the last couple games," Liberty Coach Tyler Hussey said. "To get the win was the thing. I don't care what the score is. In the first half there were a couple rebounds that we didn't run down — we hesitated and didn't challenge. At halftime we talked about running through everything. And the hustle was there on that tap-in opportunity."

It was a difficult fate for Knight, who came up huge in the first half, saving a penalty kick — twice. That was the highlight of an eventful opening 15 minutes, which featured nearly everything but a goal.

Ironwood (2-2-1, 1-1 regular season) controlled the ball in the opening minutes and had a header off a corner kick fly just over the crossbar.

Six minutes in, however, junior forward Tyler Thompson was fouled in the box and Liberty (4-3-1, 2-1 regular season) had a penalty kick.

Senior forward Logan Ritter stepped to the spot and Knight saved his shot. But the referee ruled that one of the Eagles moved before the kick and gave the Lions a second try.

Ironwood coach Tim Beck disputed the call and was given a yellow card. Ritter tried again and this time Knight deflected the ball up, off the bottom of the crossbar and out.

The saves buoyed the home team, which nearly scored on senior forward Kenny Samatar's header off a free kick. In the 15th minute Samatar was pulled down in the box for a penalty kick.

But sophomore defender JP Yanez's attempt blasted off the top of the crossbar.

"It was a tale of two halves. All those missed chances in the first half — three missed PKs. It was a wild game," Hussey said.

Thompson set up the other good Liberty scoring chance by making a run in the 14th minute and crossing it to junior forward Bailey Moore. Again Knight was there for the save.

Both teams had sets on goal just before the half but Knight and Liberty junior goalkeeper Nick Olcan.

Ironwood dominated play in the second half, other than Liberty's sudden goal. Sophomore defender Nate Guzman and Samatar just missed with shots off the bar and post in the opening minutes.

Olcan saved junior forward Alex Panduro's shot just before the Lions' goal.

"Nothing is easy. The ball could take a bad bounce at any time. Ironwood's an excellent squad that can put the ball away from anywhere," Hussey said. "(Nick) did a great job putting himself in position, and being able to deflect a couple of shots away from goal. A shutout against Ironwood on their field is something he can put on his resume."

Now, Olcan had to hold firm against a more aggressive Ironwood attack. The Eagles got in deep off the free kick but could not make the turn to shoot.

Three Ironwood corner kicks in about a minute failed to lead to a scoring chance. Samara had one more good look but his shot in the 72nd minute was deflected.

With just under four minutes left, sophomore defender Gabe Guerrero was given a red card for a challenge. Beck was livid, saying Guerrero was the player injured on the play, and the coach also received a red card.

Coach Beck declined to comment after the game.

After struggling through the opening weeks, the Lions don't mind getting a break or two.

"Our team has faced a lot of adversity. We've got two guys out right now and guys playing different positions. I was proud of the boys tonight. Ironwood made some adjustments and came at us in the second half. I'm proud of my back line and keeper for keeping the ball in front of them," Hussey said. "In the West Valley now, Liberty and Ironwood are going to compete every year. I've got guys playing more minutes because of injuries. They held up and I'm proud of them."

Ironwood's Kenny Samatar (#9) dribbles the ball up the field against Liberty on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2017 at Ironwood High School in Glendale. [Jacob Stanek/West Valley Preps][/caption]