Mound Westonka boys soccer played two games last week that had a lot of similarities. Both were away from home at local opponents, Rockford and Providence Academy in Plymouth. Both were played on turf fields which is not the teams preferred surface.  MWHS outplayed the opponents for long stretches of both games.  Both games ended in frustrating 1-1 ties when a win could have easily been the result.

The first game at Providence on Tuesday, September 7, started slow.  There was only one really good chance and it was on a 35-yard bomb from sophomore Sam Holmberg as he tried to blast over the goalkeeper who was off his line.

Providence took the lead against the run of play on a corner kick in the 47th minute.  MWHS responded in the 52nd minute when senior captain Michael Doshan blasted in a free kick, which he magically curved around the defenders' wall.

After that spark, with the game tied, MWHS really came alive and looked likely to score many times.  A few bad final touches, stout defensive play, and the woodwork of the goal held the visiting team at bay though and the clock ran out after OT with a 1-1 tie.  Jack Markstrom came closest to get the winner in the 58th minute when he ripped a volley off the crossbar after great work on the wing by fellow sophomore Brett Bartkowicz.

Rinse and repeat on Thursday night. This time at Rockford. The White Hawks fell behind in the fifth minute when a defensive mix up gifted the Rockets a goal.  MWHS responded with several great attacking sequences and almost equalized within minutes. Shots by senior Jarvis Jackson and junior Jessiah Hunter came closest to going in. 

The game then seemed to plod along without a plot for a while, but in the middle of the second half, the White Hawks started to dominate. In the 59th minute Doshan again provided the equalizing goal, this time poking in a free kick taken by senior captain Manu Jordan.

After being fouled on a quick run into the box, Doshan looked set to win the game in overtime, but his well-struck penalty kick hammered off the cross bar and fell out of the sky into the goalie's arms.  Overtime ran out and the game ended a tie.

At least the two frustrating draws allowed the team to maintain their unbeaten start to the season with a 3-0-2 record.

Final Scores: Providence Academy 1 – Mound Westonka 1;  Rockford 1 – Mound Westonka 1