Hopewell HS Boys Soccer Pick Up 2nd Win of the Season

HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP– The Hopewell Vikings Boys HS Soccer team picked up their second win of the season on Saturday afternoon with a 6-1 win over Riverside.

Despite struggling in the first half, Hopewell eventually found their rhythm and was able to put together some much needed offense and goals.

Riverside started the match quickly by scoring first within the first couple minutes of the game. However, Hopewell’s defensive lineup led by Alexnder Alvarado took the wakeup call and were able to hold keep Riverside off the board the rest of the way. Hopewell’s defense controlled the line with speed and physicality with Alvardo, Bryce Ray, Aaden Gonzalez, Michael Dinardo, Jake Kovell, Sam Wrzesniewski and Sammy Milligan. The combination of defensive players used by Coach Richter held off Riverside from being able to make any solid scoring opportunities.

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On the other side of the field, the Vikings clearly dominated offensively but were still trying to find their groove in terms of putting the ball in the net.

Freshman Nykyeron Leonora got Hopewell on the scoreboard first with his second of the season near the end of the first half.

Halftime: Hopewell 1 Riverside 1

Coach Ritcher went into the locker room knowing his team should’ve been leading and pushed his players to come out in the second half with a more fast-paced game, including smarter passing.

That talked worked as Tommy Armour scored to give Hopewell the lead as he was set up on a nice assist from Gonzalez, which was his first assist of the season.

That locker room pep talk must have worked because the goals kept connecting after that.

Bryce Ray banged home back-to-back goals shortly after to give Hopewell a 4-1 lead. His first goal came when his shot was deflected by a Riverside defender and past the goalie. Minutes later, Ray again pushed forward with another goal, as Armour picked up the assist.

Armour continued his offensive presence as he was able to draw a foul inside the penalty box, scoring his second goal of the game with a penalty kick.

The Vikings scored one more goal as Rocco Marcantonio took a free kick outside the 18-yard line and found the back of the net to give Hopewell a 6-1 lead.

Final Score: Hopewell 6 Riverside 1

The Vikings improve their record to 2-3 and will face another talented opponent when they travel to Quaker Valley this coming Tuesday.