The season got closer to wrapping up, but the exciting action never ceased. CSLA boy’s soccer beat Ooltewah High School 3-0 in a late scoring nail biter. The CSLA Eagles held home field advantage over the Ooltewah Owls, and they defended it well. All thanks to the special performance from CSLA’s Omar El-Etr who would put in two late goals.
“It felt good to win,” said Omar El-Etr. “My job is just to find the space and I am luck to have exceptional players around me to play me the ball so I can finish the ball. I don’t score much. So, it feels good to have two on the score sheet today. We are going for state this year. Going all the way. Since I am a senior, I try to be a role model for the younger players. It’s hard because you want to be yourself, but you know there are other people watching. You need to be a good example for the other people coming through the school. I am eighteen years old. I try to set a good example for the ninth and tenth graders. But I have to start with the juniors. That way we can set an example for the rest. I am going to UTC, after I graduate, to study engineering.”
The first half did not show any goals, however, there were plenty of opportunities from both sides. CSLA controlled possession, taking their time to build up their attack to find the best chance. Ooltewah would strike quickly with a hard punch that would come so close to scoring on multiple occasions. The crowd knew goals were coming, but they were unlucky to find one.
While the second half showed three goals, they did not show up until later in the half. This left the fans eager with anticipation. Then, out of nowhere, Yousof Alymany would sneak through the Ooltewah defense and put in the first goal. He scored with speed, building off a beautiful pass from Kasey Kirk. The next two come from Omar El-Etr. The first goal scored after Alejandro Bougrat sent a through ball straight to his feet. El-Etr placed it well into the bottom corner to increase their lead. With only twelve minutes remaining, El-Etr snuck another goal in to clinch the win. After Conner Tate crossed it to the back post, Nick Bruner headed the ball right to El-Etr. Acting out of pure reflex, he headed it past the keeper to make it 3-0.
“It feels really good to win tonight,” Said CSLA Head Coach Wes Castle. “I scheduled this game on purpose. I knew that it would be a good game to get us ready for our tournament. We have Cleveland Thursday, because I knew that would be a good game as well. We have had ups and downs this season. We had a great start to the season at the Cleveland Tournament. Then we just had five hard fought losses. We were struggling a little bit, but then we played our district games and had a couple of really good wins there. It is feeling pretty good. We are pretty fit. I do a lot of substitutions. I like to keep fresh legs in. we did a couple of different formations, especially in the first half. We have three different formations we can play. I think that is what helped. We were able to get those outside backs involved. We weren’t shooting in the first half, but we really started taking shots in the second.”
Game Summary
Ooltewah 0 0 --0
CSLA 0 3 --3
Goal Scorers:
CSLA- Omar El-Etr 2, Yousof Alymany.
Assists:
CSLA- Kasey Kirk, Alejandro Bougrat, Nick Bruner.