The Leigh boys soccer team triumphed over host Willow Glen, 2-0, in BVAL Mount Hamilton action Thursday night on the shoulders of senior forward Michael Leitchmann and his two goals. In a stunning reversal of fortune, it was the fourth victory in a row for the Longhorns (6-6-1, 4-1-1 BVAL-MH), while the Rams (7-5-0, 2-4-0) have now dropped four in a row.
After a scoreless first half in which Leigh had a lot of opportunities but could not capitalize, Leitchmann was able to come through in the 52nd minute to notch the game’s first score, hitting a follow up shot after his first shot bounced off a defender.
Roughly 15 minutes later, in the 68th minute, Leitchmann scored again, this time on a stunning header, to put the game out of reach for Willow Glen.
Leigh’s offense proved to be dominant, holding onto possession of the ball for most of the game, lifting the burden off of their defense, which was still reeling from its loss of senior center defender Josue Mendoza, who is sidelined with a major hamstring injury that could possibly keep him out for the remainder of the season.
“In the first half we were probing the defense, taking a shot left, then right, then center, then left again, until we found the weakness we were looking for, and then we exploited it,” said Leigh coach Frank Von Rassler.
Leigh wasn’t the only team playing down a man though, as the Rams struggled to deal with the loss of goalie Anthony Macias and forward Graham Moore, one of their top scorers.
“Moore’s absence,” said head coach John Llamas, “was a big factor in our issues with offensive production.”
Despite the lack of scoring, Willow Glen still showed some positives in the game, particularly its midfield defense. Leigh players were constantly finding themselves turning the ball over as the Rams diligently intercepted as many of Leigh’s passes as they could.
Willow Glen will look to solve its offense problems next week with a visit to Lincoln (3-3-3, 2-1-2), while Leigh will continue to march on without Mendoza when it host Overfelt (0-8-1, 0-4-0).
