Phil Rosborough’s goal with three minutes left in the match lifted Wabash to a 2-1 victory at Anderson Wednesday evening in the 2010 season opener for the Wabash soccer team.
Dylan Andrew found Rosborough
(left) crossing in front of the goal in the closing minutes of the match. Andrew’s pass gave Rosborough the perfect opportunity to beat Anderson’s goalkeeper for the go-ahead goal.
Senior Mark Babcock scored the first goal of the season for the Little Giants on a penalty kick after forward Femi Oluyedun was fouled inside the penalty box. Babock, who was a perfect 4-for-4 in penalty kicks last season, drilled his attempt home to give Wabash the 1-0 lead.
“Our first half was ‘so-so’,” head coach Roberto Giannini said. “We had four or five good chances to score, but we couldn’t put the ball in the net. The second half we came back really more organized. We changed the system a little bit.
“We really only made one mistake in the back, but that Anderson took advantage for the game-tying goal. The good thing was our guys wanted to win. We came out aggressively and had two or three chances to score. Finally Dylan made a beautiful assist to Phil on a nice cut across the box for the game-winning goal.”
The Ravens answered with a second half goal to even the score at 1-1.
“I’m happy about the win,” Giannini said. “I’m happy about the heart the team showed after Anderson tied the score. A couple of combinations we executed in front of the box are a reflection of what we’ve practiced for the last two weeks. Nonetheless we still have some work to do. Now we move on to the weekend.”
Freshman Ian MacDougall made two saves in his first career start in goal. The Little Giants outshot Anderson 12-6, putting five shots on net compared to three for the Ravens. Allan Swan and Femi Oluyedun joined Andrew, Babcock, and Rosborough with shots on goal for Wabash.
Wabash (1-0) will play host to the first Robbie Dreher Memorial Soccer Classic this weekend at Mud Hollow Field. The Little Giants will play Spalding in the first match Saturday at 2 p.m. Wabash takes on Maryville of Tennessee Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m.
Prior to Saturday’s match the Little Giants will conduct a free youth soccer clinic at noon. Twenty spots are still open for any child who would play in U-9 (7-9 years old) and older in an upcoming fall league. To reserve a spot in the clinic, contact Michele Humphreys at 765-376-6340 or by email at
mlhkwikkopy@sbcglobal.net before Friday afternoon.
Photos by Susan Albrecht.
