MADEIRA — After a fast and furious start, Wilmington and Madeira settled in to their game Friday night as the 2017 high school soccer season kicked off.
As par of the Ohio High School Athletic Association’s “Friday Night Futbol, presented by the Columbus Crew SC,” the teams combined to score two goals in just over two minutes of play before the Mustangs tallied the lone marker in the second half for a 3-2 win.
The non-league match was played at Madeira High School.
“The result wasn’t in our favor but Madeira is a quality opponent with two state championships under their belt,” WHS coach Imad El-Macharaffie said.
Despite the loss, El-Macharaffie was pleased with the effort of his squad.
“It’s a long season and this game was meant to be a challenge and our boys will recover and be ready to go against Massie, Xenia and Hillsboro next week.”
After the Mustangs grabbed a 1-0 lead just 47 seconds into the match, the Hurricane responded when Matt Butcher took a Sam Spirk throw-in and put one into the back of the net with just 2:10 elapsed on the clock. The score was Butcher’s first career varsity goal.
Madeira again too a one-goal lead midway through the first half but less than a minute later Spirk, with an assist to Nate Lakes, tied the match at 2-2 with his first goal of the season.
Neither team scored the rest of the first half and they went to the break tied at 2-2. Madeira scored the game-winner with 10 minutes remaining in the match.
“We started off slow and Madeira was able to capitalize,” said El-Macharaffie. “‘We showed flashes of resolve, making it 2-2, but their soccer experience made the difference. We are proud of the energy these boys put out but our lack of depth on the bench limits how long our guys can be effective.”
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