Columbus East’s Emilio Quintero Aguirre, left, and Elijah Goodpaster, right, battle Columbus North’s Misaki Takemoto for the ball at the BCSC Soccer Complex, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023.
Paige Grider | For The Republic
It was the same old story for Columbus North boys soccer team. For Columbus East, it was about patience.
After a scoreless first half, the teams traded goals in the second half to settle for a 1-1 draw Saturday night at the BCSC Soccer Complex.
“Coming into the game, we knew they were the No. 4 team in the state for a reason. They went to the state finals last year,” East coach Josh Gonsior said. “We knew we had to be physically and mentally prepared for this game. I think the boys showed they could play for 80 minutes. Taking advantage of that opportunity was huge. We’re going to continue to build on that and push ourselves to see where we could be at the end of the year.”
The game originally was scheduled for Thursday, but the excessive heat that settled in Columbus over the past several forced the game to be moved to Saturday.
The Olympians (0-0-2) had a more defensive approach heading into the game, which made the final shot totals lopsided. The Bull Dogs (4-0-1) took 17 shots, with seven on goal to East’s two shots and one on goal.
“It was a great night for the community. The fans got to see a good soccer game. They got to see a reasonable attack from us but not very good defending from us,” North coach Andy Glover said. “Obviously, we’ve got some things to do. They had a strategy and employed it very well, and I’m OK with that. I’m not OK with our effort defensively.”
The Bull Dogs had numerous chances to break the game open in the first half, but they couldn’t find the net. The best opportunity for North in the first half came from a free kick in the 33rd minute when Aidan Whitley’s attempt from just outside the box went past the wall, but into the arms of East goalkeeper August Comer for the save.
The Olympians patience throughout the game paid off in a huge way. In the 61st minute, East was rewarded with a corner kick. Boston Ely’s kick went into the box, and Elijah Goodpaster got the touch on the ball, which went into the net for the 1-0 lead.
In the 69th minute, the East was called for a handball inside the box that awarded the Bull Dogs a penalty kick. Christian Cardoso took the kick. His shot went to lower right end of the goal, and Comer couldn’t react quick enough as North leveled the game.
The Bull Dogs attempted several shots in the final 10 minutes of the game, but couldn’t find the go-ahead goal.
