GREENVILLE – The Greenville varsity boys soccer team defeated the visiting Piqua Indians 2-0 to earn a Senior Night victory at Harmon Field.
Greenville honored seven senior prior the Tuesday night Miami Valley League (MVL) match: Andrew Bonfiglio, Axl Rodriquez, James Fields, Kaleb Poe, Alex Hutt, Andrew Stachler and Josh Galloway.
“It’s a great group of seniors,” Greenville coach Mark Coppess said. “They are going to be missed – big shoes to fill next year but we have some young ones that can do it.”
The teams played to a scoreless stalemate after one half of play on an uncharacteristic hot and humid October night in Greenville.
“We played pretty hard,” said Greenville coach Mark Coppess. “We started out a little bit weak and soft but stepped it up in the second half and played well.”
Greenville grabbed a 1-0 lead with 24:06 on the second half clock with Andrew Stachler finding the back of the net with an assist from Alex Hutt.
It took the Green Wave just under six minutes to take a 2-0 advantage with Ben Davidson hitting a goal with the aid of a Kaleb Poe assist.
“They (goals) were fairly close,” Coppess noted. “We talked at halftime about moving the ball and opening up their defense. We finally moved the ball around and the opportunities were there.”
“There really wasn’t a super offensive threat,” Coach Coppess said. “We could push up a little higher and put some pressure on them.”
Coach Coppess took time to talk about his seven senior players following the Senior Night win.
“Josh Galloway came back after only playing one other year, that was my first year,” said Coppess. “Josh and (Andrew) Stochler are both very competitive. They bring a no-quit attitude to the team and helps everybody around them.”
“Alex Hutt has just been a workhorse for us all year,” Coppess continued. “We can put him anywhere on the field – he can play anywhere. Very talented player, very high soccer IQ, great player.”
“Kaleb Poe coming in here from FM provides a lot of aerial threats for us, is not afraid to get up and win a ball, not afraid to get down on the ground and put some pressure on people,” said Coppess. “Axl (Rodriquez) coming in from Mexico. He started after the first few weeks, started outside back for us in the three spot and played there all year, so very helpful.”
“Bonfig (Andrew Bonfiglio) gives us a lot of pace and physicality,” Coppess added. “James Fields was a great addition for us with his on-field presence.”
“We have one more game; West Carrollton next Tuesday at their place and then tournament starts,” concluded Coach Coppess. “Sunday (tournament draw) we will know where we are going.”
The Greenville JV squad won the early contest of the night defeating Piqua JV 2-1. Asher Garber and Avery Ernst accounted for the Green Wave goals in the win.
