Western Boone

Boys Varsity Soccer · Stars end 19-game losing streak in 2-1 win over Rossville

DOVER — Coming into the season, Western Boone boys soccer coach Freddy Argotte stressed the importance of his team rediscovering the feeling of winning as they started to take steps forward as a program.

Coming into this season, the Stars had lost 18-straight games, and that streak became 19 with a season-opening loss to Crawfordsville.

But that streak is no more.

The Stars topped Rossville 2-1 on Tuesday evening, getting the program’s first win since Sept. 23, 2017.

“This was very important for our guys,” Argotte said. “You can see the joy in their faces now after the game. I think this is the icebreaker and we are heading in the right direction. We are reaching our goal of competing and wanting to work. We will let them enjoy this tonight, then we will be ready to work for two hours tomorrow afternoon.”

Argotte said it was important to not only get a win, but to get one early in the season.

He said he hopes the win can ignite the desire to get the feeling more often moving forward.

“I think this will really help us,” Argotte said. “It will give us incentive to work. We have a taste of winning, and we will take what we did here, good and bad, fix the mistakes and use that in the games moving forward.”

The Western Boone offense kept the pressure on Rossville from the early portions of the game.

Just six minutes in, Hunter Peri had a clear chance on goal, but the shot was saved.

When Peri got his next good chance midway through the first half, he was fouled from behind by Rossville’s Gabe Spear, giving the Stars a penalty kick and Spear a red card.

Peri then made the PK to put his team up 1-0.

The Stars had a couple of good chances the rest of the half, with Peri and Jaden Ross also have quality chances to score, but the game remained 1-0 at the half.

In the second half, Western Boone made it 2-0 with 33:24 to go on a goal by Luke Rose.

The Stars had a couple of near misses to extend the lead later in the half, but attempts by Peri and Nick Bowman missed.

“We were working together really well,” Argotte said. “We had some good penetration and had guys get free. We missed a couple opportunities, but we will make a few corrections and then we will capitalize on those chances in the future.”

From there, it was up to the Western Boone defense to hold the lead.

The Stars’ defense allowed 132 goals a season ago, nearly nine a game.

But so far this year they have been much improved.

They lost the shutout with 14:24 to go in the game, but limited the Rossville opportunities the entire night.

Goalkeeper Korbin Jones had seven saves.

“We have come together really well,” Argotte said. “We have the twin towers back there in Max Wheatley and Jackson Alexander. Then we have Nik Pierce as well. They are doing a good job with the physicality of it and clearing the ball from the back.”

The Stars are back in action Saturday against North Montgomery.

Argotte said the Stars have to continue to work on things to get better.

“We will get back to work,” Argotte said. “We have to work a little better with our midfielders getting through balls to the forwards, and then the forwards finishing on goal.”

Will Willems is the Sports Editor of the Lebanon Reporter and Zionsville Times Sentinel. Follow him on Twitter @Will_Willems.