Soccer

Flame on

Bulldogs show outbursts of heated intensity in gritty loss to powerful Cornwall

By RICHARD A. ROSS

JEFFERSONVILLE, NY —Searing heat and running full tilt to keep up with the relentlessness of the flaming Class A Cornwall Dragons helped the Sullivan West Bulldogs understand what it means to be in the intense heat of the battle on September 4.

Cornwall played quick and loose, looking to score against a team less daunting than its prior two opponents while the Bulldogs scrambled to defend their own end for the better part of the first half, as the Dragons out shot them. Lessons about switching and overlapping came fast and furious as part of the opening day’s equation.

A number of players were holding down positions other than those they will fill once a planned-for reshuffling takes place, including veteran keeper Logan Grishaber.

The team will be far better served once Grishaber is up front to join forward Eric Minton and center midfielder Justin Armstrong. Gaston Owen also should be a forward but instead, he held down the sweeper position.

The teams traded penalty kicks early on with Sullivan West’s Lucas Bauer tying the game with his left-footed shot. Cornwall would score twice more by day’s end but the real story was about Sullivan West, which played intense soccer against a daunting foe.

For the full story of the game and an album of pictures that records the vibrant action, visit riverreportersports.com