Solanco boys soccer coach Ron Miller vowed his team would make more history this year. His team made good on that promise in the first game of the season. Nick Boulé collected four goals and two assists and Bryan Olivares had a hat trick as the Mules downed Pequea Valley 7-4 last Friday morning. "That's a big boy team we beat," Miller said. "There were a few tense moments but we outplayed them for 75 of the 80 minutes." Solanco annually meets the perennial power Braves in the season-opener. Pequea Valley had won at least the 10 previous meetings and did not allow a Mule goal the last few years.
That changed quickly Friday as Boulé tallied twice in the first five minutes and Solanco never trailed. Boulé opened the scoring in the fourth minute. A 40-yard throw-in by Colin Kilgore bounced over the head of a defender and Boulé ran on to the ball and slotted it home. One minute later, a Cody Bleacher shot ricocheted toward Boulé, who pounced on it and made it 2-0. Solanco extended its lead to 3-0 in the 31st minute when Olivares converted a pass from Evan Salisbury. Pequea Valley countered quickly, narrowing the gap to 3-1 just 40 seconds after the Olivares goal. The Mules seemed poised to go into halftime with at least a two-goal cushion but the Braves had other ideas. The PV goalie made an outstanding save and the Braves came down the field and scored with eight seconds left to get within a goal at intermission. "That's a backbreaker when you've outplayed them for 39 minutes," said Miller. Undeterred, the Mules regained the momentum early in the second half when Boulé scored off a 45-yard chip from Bleacher. Pequea Valley answered in the 53rd minute but Olivares responded two minutes after that. The PV goalie made the initial save on a free kick taken by Boulé and Olivares put away the rebound to make it 5-3. "The kids kept fighting," Miller said. "They didn't ease up. There were a few mistakes but they are things we can correct." With 14 minutes left, Boulé scored an unassisted goal to up the advantage to 6-3. "For the first time, I was able to start breathing a little easier," Miller said. Pequea Valley added a goal with 11 minutes to go but the Mules iced it with two minutes to go. Olivares converted a perfectly-placed corner kick by Boulé. "It was a nice victory," Miller said. "A few years ago, the Solanco kids came into a game hoping to win. Last year, the boys started believing they could win. This team goes into a game thinking, 'We're winning'. You can feel it." Comments are closed.
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