Boys soccer: Tam blitzes Archie Williams in MCAL opener

The MCAL opener couldn’t have gone much better for the Tam High boys soccer team and couldn’t have gone much worse for Archie Williams.

The Red-tailed Hawks scored a couple of first-half goals then had a flurry of goals in the second half to put the finishing touches on a 6-1 home victory on Tuesday night.

“I thought on the day we played really well,” Tam coach Shane Kennedy said. “It was a good first performance for us so I’m super happy but we’ve got a lot of work to do. This league is, as you know, on the boys side there’s no days off.”

Trevor Islam and Jasper Kunz got Tam (1-0-0, 1-0-0 MCAL) off to a strong start with goals in the fifth and 20th minutes, respectively.

Islam capitalized on a defensive miscue by Archie Williams when a defender attempted to play a back pass to goalie Achilles Das. Islam intercepted the ball and calmly tapped it home for a quick 1-0 lead.

Islam and Adam Leikin were involved in the buildup to the second goal, both getting touches inside the box and stretching the Archie Williams backline with their movement and passing. The ball found Kunz on the left side of the 18-yard box. Kunz tucked his shot inside the far post to double the lead.

A tough first half for Archie Williams got worse when Daniel Silva had to be helped off the field after an apparent ankle injury in the 38th minute. Silva did not return to the game.

Despite the first-half struggles, Archie Williams found some life early in the second half. Cole Sullivan pressured Tam goalie Vlade Oullette on a back pass in the 44th minute and a few moments later, Leo Mohan Lewin put a shot on frame to force a save from Oullette.

Just when it appeared that the Peregrine Falcons were finding a foothold in the game, Tam pulled the rug out from under them, making it 3-0 a minute later.

“I was happy that we were good on the ball,” said Kennedy, the long-time Tam girls coach who takes over the boys program after taking last season off. “We kept the ball. We moved it which is really what we’ve been working on. Obviously we finished our chances but I felt we were gifted a few, also.”

The third goal was one of those gifts. Tam sent a free kick into the 6-yard box. Das was unable to hold onto the ball and Tam’s Louis Sherman tapped it in for a 3-0 lead.

The Peregrine Falcons (0-1-0, 0-1-0) briefly climbed back into the game with a goal in the 60th minute — from Sullivan to Anton Della Valle — to trim the deficit to 3-1. Tam’s Trevor Koo added goals in the 62nd and 69th minute to stretch the lead to 5-1.

“We’re going to try to keep the ball and roll it around as much as we can and share it,” Kennedy said. “I’ve got some good technical kids. I have a senior-heavy team. I’ve got kids that have been through it.”

Drew Rossington capped the scoring with a goal in the 75th minute. Tam also had a goal disallowed in the 49th minute when Leikin was flagged for being offside.

Tam, which finished tied with Redwood for the league lead in points with 35 last season, made an impressive opening statement against an Archie Williams squad that finished fifth in the league before winning the North Coast Section Division III title and making it to the NorCal D-II title game. The Peregrine Falcons graduated 19 seniors from that team.

“It’s early in the season,” Kennedy said. “The result isn’t necessarily an indication of the two teams. I mean I like our team obviously, but they’re Archie Williams. They’re not gonna mess around. They’ll be back.”

Around the county

• Roan Goertz and Elvin Maldonado combined to score five goals as Terra Linda (1-0-0, 1-0-0) rolled to a 5-0 win against Branson. Goertz scored a hattrick and Maldonado netted the other two goals.
• Osvaldo Real and Chris DeLeon scored early goals to lift Novato to a 2-0 victory against Marin Catholic (0-1-0). Real put the Hornets (1-0-0, 1-0-0) on the board in the 13th minute then DeLeon tacked on the second in the 20th minute.
• Juan Hernandez scored the equalizer in the 65th minute as San Rafael (0-0-1, 0-0-1) settled for a 1-1 draw against San Marin (0-0-1, 0-0-1). Hernandez scored on an assist from Teo Cristea.

Girls soccer

• Branson opened the season with a 2-0 victory against Ukiah on Monday night. The Bulls (1-0-0) got goals from Riley Pearson and Catrin Howell. Branson opens league play Wednesday against Terra Linda. The Trojans are coming off a 4-1 loss to Ukiah on Monday. Rashell Diaz had the goal for the Trojans (0-1-0).
• San Rafael opened up with a 3-0 home loss to Rancho Cotate Monday night. The Bulldogs trailed 2-0 at the half. San Rafael’s best chance came in the 20th minute as Noelia Gramajo hit the crossbar with a free kick.