Hawk boys splashed in opener

DARRELL L. BREESE/ Frontiersman Reporter

HOUSTON - First it was rain. Then it was mud. Then it was a barrage of goals.

The soccer field at Houston High School was exposed to its share of each Saturday in the Homer Mariners' 7-1 Northern Lights Conference win against the host Hawks.

Houston had a tough afternoon defensively as the Mariners tallied their first three goals, thanks to defensive errors.

Homer got on the board in the second minute when Tim Walsworth got behind the Hawks' defense and slipped his shot beyond the reach of goalkeeper Henry Orth. Five minutes later Homer scored again after three Hawk players missed on chances to clear the ball from the front of their own goal, allowing Walsworth to net his second score of the game. Walsworth completed his first-half hat-trick in the 18th minute, when he again got behind the Houston defense and rocketed a shot to the left corner, beyond the reach of a diving Orth.

"It's a tough loss,” Houston head coach Chad Rice said. "We had some defensive lapses early in the first half. If we make those plays, I think the final score might have been a little different. Who knows? Maybe we win the game?"

After spotting the visiting Mariners a 3-0 lead, the Hawks settled in and made some defensive adjustments that proved effective for the rest of the half.

"I saw some flashes of brilliance out there today," Rice said. "There were moments when we looked like a veteran team, not one with a bunch of guys who don't normally play soccer."

Rice was particularly impressed with how his team responded after falling behind early.

"You can not let a lead get away against a team like Homer," Rice said. "But to their credit, the guys never hung their heads. They kept playing hard right up to the final whistle."

Dennis Welburn put the Hawks on the board when he converted a penalty kick midway through the second half.

As the game progressed, field conditions went from wet to sloppy. Puddles of water transformed to mud and players struggled to maintain their footing.

Homer coach Mike Olsen was satisfied with his teams performance in spite of the conditions.

"I thought we came out and controlled the game considering how sloppy things were," Olsen said. "We were playing the ball to our feet, and we had a lot good passing throughout the game. If today's game is an indication, we're going to be all right for the rest of the season."