The Worthington Trojans boys soccer team got their season off to a dominant start Thursday night, as the Trojans netted five goals in the first half and six in the second on their way to an 11-0 win over Mankato Loyola at Trojan Field.
Elmer Guzman and Christian Tomas each scored a pair of goals for WHS and the Trojans also got single goals from Mir Gossom, Dalen Gonzalez, Isaiah Noble, Buoy Lia, Leo Morales, Valerio Santizo and Santos Orellena. Worthington goalie Eddie Dominguez had a quiet game in the net, as he wasn’t required to make a single save.
WHS head coach Juan Flores said Friday morning that a key goal of Thursday night’s game was to work on team chemistry as well as get bench players as many minutes as possible. Flores commented that his team performed at a high level, and that’s what’s expected.
In girls soccer action, meanwhile, the Trojans recorded their first road triumph in 10 years by edging Loyola, 2-1 in double overtime. Sofia Montoya, instructed by WHS coach Emily Ahlquist to take advantage of the wind at her back in the first half, put a long ball in the upper right corner in the net to give Worthington a 1-0 edge eight minutes into the game. Loyola answered with a goal eight minutes into the second half, and the match would be knotted at one-apiece until Arely Martinez scored on a rebound off of a Montoya penalty kick with just seven seconds remaining in the second overtime.
Worthington, which outshot its hosts, 20-8, has now matched its victory total of all last season, and Ahlquist said the Trojans now have some much-needed confidence moving forward.
The Trojan girls soccer team will next play a match at 11 a.m. Saturday at Garretson, S.D. The boys will next play Tuesday, when they host St. Peter at 7 p.m. at Trojan Field.
