Knights score 4-1 win over Granite City

By Anthony Jones

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TROY — After two weeks of their season, Triad boys soccer has a balanced 1-1-1 record.

The Knights started their season with a 2-2 draw against O’Fallon on Aug. 26 and returned to play on Sept. 3 at Father McGivney. Their matchup with the Griffins marked the sixth-consecutive season that the non-conference foes clashed.

Entering their matchup, the Griffins held a 2-0 record and had outscored their opponents 10-2.

Early in the second half, the hosting Griffins nabbed a 1-0 lead on a goal from Spencer Martin. Aaron Broadwater assisted on the lead-taking score.

Behind a seven save performance from Patrick Gierer in net, McGivney held on to their lead for a 1-0 victory. The Griffin win marked their first victory in program history against the Knights.

On Sept. 5, the Knights battled Granite City. Entering Triad’s home opener, the Warriors had amassed a 3-1 record.

The first half featured a heavy dose of Triad possession, yet they failed to convert their edge into a lead.

Coach Jim Jackson recounted his halftime message with the score tied at 0-0, “At McGivney, we came out flat and gave up a goal early in the second half and couldn’t recover. We talked about how we didn’t want to do that tonight, so we came out playing better.”

Less than five minutes into the half, the Knights responded to the pep talk with the first goal of the night. 

The scoring sequence started with a short run from sophomore Joey Bohnak on the left wing, who then uncorked a cross into the box. Junior Eli Noonan rushed into the box to meet the cross and delivered a successful shot with a flick of his head.

Triad’s 1-0 lead doubled less than two minutes later.

Junior Reid Heffren described his 18 yard boot to put the Knights ahead 2-0,“The ball was bouncing out to me at the top and I usually am the ceiling guy, so I’m looking to put the ball back in. I saw that nobody was coming out to step me, so I hit a volley and it got right over the keeper’s hand.”

Heffren added another goal to his tally with twenty-two minutes remaining from the penalty spot. His second half goal marked the first time Granite City had allowed three goals this season.

With 18 minutes left to play, senior Anthony Massie reinforced the lead as he bodied a corner kick into the back of the net. Heffren earned his first assist of the night by delivering the strike from the sideline.

Granite City produced their first tally of the night with nine minutes remaining, but failed to pull the score closer than 4-1. Cortlan Dellamano recorded the win in net for Triad.

Heffren, who finished the affair with five points, reacted to improving to 1-1-1, “It feels great. We’ve been without a win so far, so it feels really good to get one and hopefully we can keep it rolling.”

The Knights now turn their attention to their Mississippi Valley Conference schedule, starting with a hosting of Highland on Sept. 10. Triad enters league play having won 15 consecutive contests against conference opponents.

“We’ve won the last five years, so the target is on our back for that, let alone winning Regionals and Sectionals. One of our first goals is to get the win in conference. It’s going to be challenging,” Coach Jackson discussed the team’s 10 game schedule against conference rivals.