STORY AND VIDEO BY MATT SIMON
In a physical Moore League opener the Millikan and Wilson boys soccer teams finished in a hard-fought 0-0 tie Wednesday afternoon at Stephens Field.
Wilson (3-3-2, 0-0-1) played tenacious defense led by senior Andres Mota who led the Bruins’ backline in containing Millikan’s speedy attack.
For Millikan (4-0-2), their attack wasn’t able to find the back of the net as Edgar Hernandez, Jesus Moreno and Christian Monge had open looks in the first half.
Each team had their opportunities in the first half with Wilson having three shots on goal and Millikan having four.
“When you go away and you play a quality team, you get a tie on their field – it doesn’t hurt,” Millikan coach Rod Petkovic said.
For coach C.J. Brewer, the Bruins played according to game plan and just missed some opportunites.
“I feel there was some chess being played on ends,” Wilson coach C.J. Brewer said. “That’s what made it fun for me as a coach. The players were starting to get involved and I wouldn’t even have to tell them to do things. I feel like our team’s IQ improved throughout the game.”
In the second half, there were multiple foul calls and eventually led to multiple red cards being given. Wilson had two players receive red cards, while Millikan had one.
“It’s unfortunate that they lost two guys to red cards and we lost one,” Petkovic said. “We just got one guy off a red card today for the next game, and then we lose another one. This has to stop, we have to be more disciplined.”
“When you let the early fouls go, then it gets a little out of hand,” Brewer said. “I think it was equally out of hand, it should be a fun game the next match.
Millikan will be back in action next Thursday when they face Sonora at the Marina Winter Classic and Wilson will face Gahr on Dec. 30.
