Boys soccer gradually pulls away from North Ridgeville in 4-1 victory

After an uneven start to the season against three quality opponents, Avon’s boys soccer team met expectations Wednesday in a 4-1 victory over visiting North Ridgeville in their Southwestern Conference opener.

The Eagles, 2-1-1, scored early, allowed the Rangers to score the equalizer, and then gradually took control of the match to hand North Ridgeville its first loss of the season. Avon opened the season with a 3-0 victory over Lakewood, a 1-1 tie with Division IV state runner-up Bay and a 3-1 loss to Division I state runner-up St. Ignatius in a match that was closer than the final score indicates.

“Tonight was pretty good,” said coach Chris Dore. “Overall, I’m pretty satisfied with coming off three very difficult opening games and a tough schedule on and off the field for the guys. It took a little bit of motivating, but I think that we controlled the game the way that we were supposed to. We showed some signs of just beginning areas of improvement that all of our teams have to go through at the beginning of the season. I’m satisfied with their effort and their focus.”

Senior forward Mateo Muratore led the Eagles with his first two goals of the season, and juniors Connor Britt and Ryan Wadas also found the nets.

“We’re the type of team where we’re going to need to rely on multiple goal scorers,” Dore said. “That’s the way we play. We try our best to move the ball around and make good decisions and not just target somebody up top as the end result. We usually are a team that spreads the wealth, so it’s always good to have guys that play up front see the ball hit the back of the net. It gives them confidence and a hunger to do it again.”

Muratore scored his first goal after North Ridgeville goalkeeper Micah Braun successfully deflected a cross from the left side by midfielder London Carney. However, the ball deflected right to Muratore, who easily headed it into the goal. The senior closed the scoring with his second goal, outrunning a Ridgeville defender to the ball after a long pass from Daniel Hernandez Leon and then beating Braun on a low shot.

Carney also assisted on the game’s opening goal, which was scored by Britt from about 20 yards out. Britt, a midfielder, received a pass from Carney on the right side and dribbled across the defense until he was able to drill the ball low and right with his left foot.

“Connor Britt, who got one tonight, is not a prototypical player at that position that’s a goal scorer,” Dore said. “He does so much on and off the ball to allow those guys up front to be creative. He carries so much of the workload in the middle of the field. He needs to be recognized for that. Everybody focuses on the goals, but over the course of the season, the way that he is the nucleus in the middle of the field is definitely something to write about.”

Britt combines with Carney to give the Eagles a very strong presence in the midfield.

“London is a really talented offensive-minded player,” Dore said. “He’s the type of kid that could not be focused on for a really long period of time within the game, but then he takes over the goal-scoring opportunities and creates goal-scoring opportunities. The good thing about London is that he can score and also assist.”

The end result was that the Eagles were able to score four times against a team that hadn’t allowed a goal in its first three games, a 0-0 tie with Mayfield, a 5-0 victory over Valley Forge and a 3-0 victory over Eastlake North.

“I thought it was a really good team effort,” said Carney. “It was the first conference game of the season, and I thought we held up really well. We played really well as a team and, ultimately, it was a good result for us.”

Next up for Avon is a SWC matchup at Olmsted Falls on Wednesday. The Bulldogs are 1-0 in conference play and 3-1 overall.