Hopewell HS Boys Soccer Earn Solid 3-1 Win Over Freedom

HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP– The exciting thing about watch the 2024 Hopewell HS Boys’ soccer team is that the foundation is there.

The Vikings roster has talent, they have a few potential game-breakers, they have young players with high ceilings and have a great young coach in Nathan Richter.

The one thing they’re lacking is experience and by experience I’m talking about experience learning and playing in Coach Richter’s new system. It’s a 360-degree change from what they’re used to.

However, once they get more in-game experience and truly understand what he wants them to be doing in this system, Hopewell soccer has a chance to be really interesting over the coming years.

Last night was another opportunity for this team to grow and get better as they hosted the Freedom Bulldogs in a scrimmage at Tony Dorsett, the final scrimmage before the regular season gets underway next week.

Behind a solid all-around game, Hopewell came away with a 3-1 victory, highlighted by a goal from Tommy Armour, that was one of the most impressive goals you’ll ever see.

1ST HALF HIGHLIGHTS:
*In the opening minutes of the match, junior Bryce Ray was the most impressive player on the field as he attempted to use his speed and ball skills to get behind the Freedom defense. In the opening 10 minutes, Ray had 3 near breakaways.

*HOPEWELL GOAL- The Vikings got on the scoreboard first as a Freedom player tripped Tommy Armour who had a scoring chance near the net, which resulted in a penalty kick. Hopewell’s Rocco Marcantonio took the kick and didn’t miss as he buried it to the far-left side. Hopewell led 1-0.

*The Vikings had a chance to extend the lead at the 13:50 mark as Ray took a pass, made a nice move cutting into the middle and instead of shooting, passed it to his teammate Quincy Sannan at the far-right post, who just got a shot off but just missed a goal.

*Hopewell had another chance as Ray took a lead pass and used his speed to get behind the defense for an uncontested breakaway but was unable to convert with his left-footed shot.

*With 8:49 left in the 1st half, Alex Alvarado displayed big-time speed and BIG-TIME WANT TO as a Freedom forward got behind the Hopewell defense for what appeared to be a clear-cut breakaway. However, Alvarado made up at 10-15 yards and caught up to the Freedom forward just as he was attempting to get a shot off. Great effort Alex!

*HOPEWELL GOAL- Hopewell was able to extend their lead in what turned out to be the game-winning goal. With 3:08 left in the half, Armour lifted a perfect across field pass to RJ Bushnell, who buried his shot in the back of the net. Hopewell led 2-0.

HALFTIME HOPEWELL 2 FREEDOM 0

2ND HALF HIGHLIGHTS:
*With 22:00 left in the game, Hopewell goalie Tallon Coleman received a red card for tripping a player with a scoring chance. That meant that Paul Thompson replaced Coleman as the goalie and Freedom received a scoring opportunity with a direct kick. However, Thompson came up with 2 big saves, including a great save on the rebound.

*Then with 8:51 left, Armour scored an incredible goal to put the game out of reach. I’m not going to be able to do the goal justice in trying to describe it, but I’ll do my best. Dribbling left to right in the Freedom end, Tommy made a complete 180-degree spin with the ball (a move done and only seen on a very high level) to get past his initial defender and then cut it back to his left foot to create space and then buried it in the lower right corner from about 20 yards out. As one knowledgeable soccer follower said to me at the game, “that’s a D-1 soccer goal. That will be the goal of the year guaranteed…I have been around and played the game for a very long time.” The Hopewell crowd got off their feet and gave a much-deserved round of applause. Hopewell led 3-0.

*Freedom scored on a rebound goal with 2:51 left in the game, which ended the scoring.

FINAL SCORE: HOPEWELL 3 FREEDOM 1

Next up for Coach Richter and Hopewell is the season opener next Thursday (August 29th) at Ellwood City. Their next home game is Thursday, September 5th vs. Central Valley.

IN JV ACTION, Freedom defeated Hopewell 1-0.

Despite losing, Hopewell played a strong game and in reality, had more chances and appeared to be the stronger team. The Vikings players had at least 10 Grade A scoring chances around the net but couldn’t put them away. Nykyeron Leonora, Jaidyn Shoemaker and Nico Crivelli had the 3 best chances for the Vikings. If they continue to get them, there’s no doubt those will turn into goals next time! In net, Aidan Erickson played a strong game, including make a great save as a Freedom player broke free on a breakaway.