Pirate Boys’ Soccer Takes Down Coral Academy, 3-2

By GANNON HANEVOLD

Moapa Valley Progress

With only one game on the schedule, the Moapa Valley High School Boys Soccer took on the independent athletics school Coral Academy last week.
Coral Academy came to play, and both sides traded goals in the first half. The Pirate’s goal was scored by Ethynn Fulman, who was assisted by Bryan Robles.

Fulman, a sophomore, is a good representation of the team’s overall depth in the midfield and on the offensive side in general, Tobler said..
“I think anyone in our midfield can score,” Tobler said. “They’re kind of the workhorses of the bunch. They seem to really work well together.”

In the second half, things moved quickly early on. Before anyone knew it, the two sides traded goals once more. This time, Gabriel Hernandez scored the goal for Moapa keeping the game tied for a bit.
But it wouldn’t stay knotted up for too long. Coral put together an attack and sent the ball forward when Bryan Robles stepped up with a huge takeaway. Taking it himself, Robles scored on a goal that gave the Pirates the lead.

With 22 minutes left in the game, Robles made a pivotal play. Tobler spoke on Bryan’s ability to make big plays when necessary.. “This is his senior year, and he sees an opportunity to win,” Tobler said. “He’s going to take a lot on his shoulders to make sure that happens.”

It was now on the backs of the Pirate defense, led by Rylan Tobler, Eirik Monsvoll, and Bryton Westwood. Their coach had nothing but praise for the trio.
“Those three really stand out to me defensively,” he said. “They seem to really help when we aren’t playing goalside on our guys.”

In particular, Tobler praised Eirik Monsvoll. “Eirik is solid. He’s kind of our core. We didn’t mark like we should and he picked up a lot of slack back there.”

For twenty minutes, the Pirates held Coral scoreless. The Pirates won with a final score of 3-2.
“I thought we missed some really good opportunities, but the team worked well together,” Tobler said. “I felt a little better about it because, for a while, we weren’t working as well as a team as we did in the tournament.”

Another unique facet to this victory was Ronnie Bullock in goal rather than Brody Olive. Bullock stepped up at a couple huge junctions in this game against Coral.
“Ronnie and Brody have been trading out,” Tobler said. “On teams that shoot further out, we sometimes start Ronnie. And when we know it’s going to be a rough game with close shots, we like Brody. They both do a great job and so we sometimes share that time.”.

Regardless of who’s in goal, the Pirates have had their best start, possiblyin team history. The regular season is now underway and only time will tell how far this incredible year can go. Tobler is confident in his squad.
“I think we have a real shot,” he said. “Going forward, I feel like we can play with any team. I think we’re right there in the mix and it depends on how well we come out each game.”