Captains and Hough lead in win over Glendale

Mesa men's soccer played solid and had good overall spacing in another home victory, this time over the Glendale Gauchos, 3-2, at John D. Riggs Stadium on Saturday night, September 18.

The T'Birds did a fantastic job controlling the ball in their offensive third most of the night and their team captains lead the way along with a newcomer in the goal-scoring column.

The game was scoreless all the way to the second half water break before captain Joe Paulsen bombed a 90-foot laser over the head of the GCC goalkeeper Berkley Forbes.  The goal came on a set play after a foul and Paulsen took advantage of a sleeping GCC defense, but still hit a remarkable long-distance goal.

Freshman defenseman Taylor Hough got in the scoring column for the first time this season, scoring on a rocket shot from long range in the 81st minute.  The 55-foot shot gave Mesa the lead 2-1 after GCC got a goal from midfielder Kyle McDonnell in the 77th minute.

Glendale evened things up in the 80th minute on a penalty kick after Mesa committed a foul inside the penalty box. 

However, it would be Mesa captain Travis Brown making the play of the game with some fancy footwork.  Brown dribbled through a number of defenders and weaved his way into the box and smashed one into the twine from about 15 feet out in the 88th minute to give Mesa the win.

The goal scorers are not the only heralded figures and a few other players need special mention in this one as midfielder Eric Rodriguez played a solid game in the middle of the field clearing space and creating offensive runs for the forwards all day.

Midfielder Miguel Romero continued his solid play in the 2010 season with solid defense and overall aggressive play in the middle keeping the GCC offense out of their offensive third. 

Additionally, forward Jorge Chavira added some nice footwork in the offensive end, nearly capitalizing on a nifty spin move to put a shot on goal. 

"We're in the thick of things boys," said Coach Andrew Guarneri after the game.

Coach Guarneri will give the team Monday off from practice as the team will play next Friday night in Yuma against Arizona Western.

Both teams are back in action in on Monday, Septembe 27 against South Mountain.  Games begin at 4:30 and 7:00 pm.