EVANSTON — Two goals midway through the first half resulted in another loss for the Red Devil boys’ soccer team on Friday, April 27. The brace by Green River junior Chase Stoeger flipped the score from tied at nil to a 2-0 lead for the Wolves in the span of two minutes. 

The Devils began the match with some solid play as Jess Richins and Pablo Escalante worked in some nice passing and build-up to Weston Wiley, who launched a shot on goal in the second minute. Wiley’s shot went straight into the hands of Green River’s goalie. 

Green River countered with their own shot on goal by Christian Alatorre in the eighth minute, forcing a save by EHS keeper Latham Chandler. 

Another Green River attempt on a free kick by Gregory Marchal went straight into Chandler’s arms. 

Three consecutive corner kicks by the Green River side in the 20th minute had the Devils scrambling to clear the ball; however, the third kick was the charm for the Wolves as Stoeger found the back of the net with 21:05 left on the clock.

Just about a minute later Stoeger again scored off a throw-in with 20:11 remaining. 

A Green River attempt at a third goal in a matter of minutes was thwarted by a Chandler save. 

The Devils tried to find some momentum in the 26th minute as senior Nick Kunz took a shot during a flurry of activity in the box, but the shot was saved by Green River keeper Patrick Marchal. 

The Devils went into the halftime break with a 2-0 deficit and never recovered. 

A shot by Devil Brock Rigby was stopped by Marchal in the fifth minute, while a run by Richins nearly 30 minutes into the half resulted in a shot that went straight into the keeper’s arms. 

Stoeger had an attempt at a hat trick, with a header off a throw-in with 7:07 left on the clock that was just off frame. Two more Green River shots in the final six minutes were both saved by Chandler.

The Devils had an opportunity to close the gap when Richins was taken down in the box with 1:30 remaining in the match. Wiley stepped up to take the penalty kick, which was slapped away by Marchal. With the ball loose in the box, a rebound attempt by the Devils was off frame and sailed over the goal. 

A final push by Ramon Rivera at the buzzer came up short. 

Boys’ head coach Brian Richins was disappointed with the loss and said stamina was a problem for the Red Devils. “We’re executing our game plan well,” he said, “but we start to lose stamina and our plan unravels and we lose our opportunities to score.” 

In spite of his disappointment, however, Richins said he saw positives. “The group is playing well together and still hanging together in spite of our losses,” he said. “With as many losses as we’ve had, that says a lot about who they are as a team and as people.” 

“I’m happy with the faith they have in each other,” Richins continued. “I keep telling them that faith will get them there.” 

The Devils next face off against Jackson on Friday, May 4, at 5 p.m. at Evanston Middle School. Richins said they will be looking at formation and positioning prior to that match, which will see the Devils honoring four seniors at the team’s annual senior night.