High school boys soccer: Forest tops Vanguard
The Forest boys soccer team avenged an early-season loss to Vanguard, as senior forward Edwin Abreu scored a pair of goals to lead the Wildcats to a 3-1 win over the Knights on Friday night at Booster Stadium.
The loss dropped Vanguard to 3-5 on the season, while the win improved Forest to 4-2.
"The boys bounced back from a bad loss against Vanguard two weeks ago and they really wanted it," first-year Forest coach Jason Wigginton said. "They played well, we had everybody we needed tonight and I'm proud of the boys."
Forest got its offense going early as senior midfielder Carlos Leon gained control of a pass in front of the Vanguard goal and rifled a shot from 12 yards out into the lower-right corner to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead five minutes into the match.
Vanguard, which had nine shots on goal, had an excellent scoring opportunity sail just wide of its mark before Forest struck again.
Abreu showed some nifty footwork and deft ball-handling skills by maneuvering past a pair of Vanguard defenders before left-footing a strike from 10 yards out into the lower-left corner to put the Wildcats up 2-0 with 29 minutes left in the first half.
The Class 5A Knights trimmed their deficit in half as junior Tanner Putzeys scored a beautiful goal from 25 yards out to make it 2-1 with 19 minutes left in the match.
Forest, which had 14 shots on goal, answered quickly as Abreu collected a great pass and lofted a perfectly placed shot over the Vanguard goalie to give the Class 6A Wildcats a 3-1 lead with 16 minutes remaining to play.
Vanguard picked up its offensive attack and had back-to-back shots on goal, but the Wildcat defense was up to the task and kept the ball out of the net.
Forest, which controlled the action for long periods of time, was content to pass the ball and run clock with each possession.
Vanguard's last shot sailed high and wide and the referee blew his whistle to signal the end of the physical match.
"We have very technical players and we're starting to come together," Wigginton said. "We're in a rebuilding year and I'm proud of the boys for stepping up and doing a good job."
Forest is back on the pitch on Monday night with an away match at South Lake, while Vanguard hosts Belleview on Tuesday night.
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: High school boys soccer: Forest tops Vanguard
