By Jeremy McDonald
jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
DAYTON, Ore.– Amity’s nine goals allowed through their first nine games ranks up there with some noteworthy teams like Oregon Episcopal, Catlin Gabel and Santiam Christian entering their Monday night game with Dayton on the road.
It’s raised havoc on teams this season as the Warriors had only allowed two squads prior to the Pirates 2-0 victory on Dayton’s Senior night to score more than one goal in a game. The Pirates became the third following the game as both of their goals came in the closing minutes of the first half.
For the Dayton offense, they entered the game with nine goals on the year with the Pirates being ahead of Amity in the 3A/2A/1A Special District 2 standings for the fifth-place spot in league.
“It felt really exciting and really nice to finally get up there. We worked for it and we showed what we’re made out of…We can communicate more and do more passing,” said Jazmine Reos.
Reos broke the 0-0 gridlock in the 33rd minute before Dayton converted on a corner kick just as time expired in the opening 40 minutes for the 2-0 lead entering the second half.
Coming out of the halftime break, the Warriors came out aggressive on the offensive front, looking for a spark and their fifth goal of the season. Offense has been hard to come around for Amity this season as the Pirates made sure their fourth shutout remained intact by games end, but with two games left in the regular season with the hopes of league playoffs still in play, there’s confidence they could pull off some goals and some victories down the stretch.
“We’ve definitely have struggled with scoring this season, which can be frustrating. But a lot of soccer is making sure they don’t score and score goals,” said the Warriors Amity Deters. “Finishing (our opportunities) a lot and keeping up our team spirit because I know we get discouraged when we get a goal scored against us. But I think we have it in us and I think it’s possible.”
Amity host Yamhill-Carlton Thursday afternoon while the Pirates are at Taft Thursday, also in the afternoon.
