Youth soccer team opens new season

1-1 draw with Durango

On Saturday, April 24, in Montrose, the Paradise Football Club (PFC) U14 team played a great match against a U14 team from Durango. This was the PFC’s first game of the season and only their second day on the grass.
Durango struck first scoring a looping goal just beyond the grasp of Ian Detloff. But PFC struck back in the second half when Sam Reaman received a pass from JJ O’Neal, pushed the ball up the field and found the back of the net. PFC kept the pressure on hitting the post and crossbar but couldn’t find a way to score. The match ended in a 1-1 draw—not a bad way to open the season after a long winter.
The Wiggins boys made some good runs and played strong defense. Ian Detloff played goalkeeper and kept PFC in the game with some nice saves and great punts in the second half. Jake Bell played very well for his first soccer game and even had a shot on goal. Tristan Kraatz had a shot on goal as well and ran well on the wing. Liam Mortell played solid defense and did a great job cutting the ball off at midfield.
Emerson Wohlers has recently found his shot but wasn’t able to use it this game, instead playing some very solid defense. JJ O’Neal anchored the defense playing sweeper and made the assist to Reaman who scored the tying goal, and also did a stellar job on defense playing in the stopper role.
Pharwit Durgan played center mid and controlled the game with his dead eye passing and hustle on D. He also served up some nice crosses on corner kicks that almost scored. Ian Boucher played out on the right wing and did a nice job pushing the ball up the field and crossing it. We expect to see big things to come out of Ian.
Oz Scott played on the wing on the other side of the field and did a nice job receiving the ball from the back and passing it on. Kaleb Schultz played in the midfield and did a fantastic job defensively and working with Pharwit moving the ball up the field. Aaron Blunck had a strong game up front with several breakaways that nearly scored. The only low note of the day was that Isaac Evans came down with a stomach bug right before the game and wasn’t able to play.
Next game for the Paradise Football Club U14 squad is Saturday, May 1 they will play a double header in Montrose against Telluride and the Montrose Avalanche.