By Rob Potter
ELDRED — October 27, 2000 – Eldred scored twice in the first half and held off visiting Tri-Valley the rest of the way to secure a 2-1 Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association (OCIAA) Division IV victory Tuesday afternoon.
Goals by Mike Swope just 2:07 into the game and a successful penalty kick by John Schneider at the 18:52 mark of the first half gave Eldred a quick 2-0 lead.
Swope scored his goal off an assist from teammate Henry Bosch. Swope lofted a high arcing shot past Tri-Valley keeper Zack Serrano. Schneider’s penalty shot was the result of a Tri-Valley player being whistled for touching the ball with his hands while within the confines of the goal box.
Tri-Valley, however, made good on a penalty shot of its own a few minutes into the second half.
After an Eldred player was called for a hand ball in the goal box, Bear junior Jeremiah Solomon kicked a high shot into the corner of the net beyond the reach of Yellow Jacket keeper Jamie Haas.
Despite pressure by the Bears in the remaining minutes of the half and one last push with about five minutes showing on the clock, Tri-Valley could not score a game-tying goal.
One good shot came at the five-minute mark, when Serrano momentarily lost his handle on a Bear shot. But a teammate quickly kicked the ball harmlessly out-of-bounds.
“We started out well and had excellent passing,” Eldred coach Roger Weyant said. “But there was a period of about 10 minutes or so there when we started playing kickball. At halftime I reminded the guys that we have to pass the ball, not float it around.”
Other than the brief breakdown in passing, Weyant was happy with the game and its result. The victory gave the Yellow Jackets a 5–11–1 overall record and a 4-9 OCIAA mark.
But, noted Weyant, five of the eleven Eldred defeats and the tie came against Class B and C schools.
“We played great today,” Weyant said. “Hopefully, we can make into the sectionals.”
Tri-Valley Coach Chuck Bernard was also happy with his team’s performance.
“That was a good game,” Bernard said. “It was probably as well as we have played all year.”
He noted that although the Bears’ record is 2–14 overall and 2–12 in OCIAA play, they have progressed this season.
“We’re young, we only have three seniors,” Bernard commented. “We have done really well and kept up with teams, although it may not necessarily show that in the win column.”
Serrano was credited with making 15 saves in the contest, while Haas recorded five saves on the day.