Union City 1st season ends early

By RANDY CAVIN
Special to The Messenger
Union City’s upstart soccer program saw its first season come to an end Monday night.
The Golden Tornadoes had to deal with a the start of game being delayed, some rain, mud and third-seeded Westview as the Chargers ended the Twisters’ inaugural season with a 6-0 score in the first round of the Region 7A-AA Tournament.
Westview scored three goals in the first half and three more in the second half on the rain-slick soccer field at Martin.
UC head coach John Graham was pleased with the effort his team put out against one of the elite programs in the district.
“To hold a team to six goals that has been to the sectionals the last two years says something about the progress we have made,” he said. “The kids had a lot of fun out there on the wet field and in the mud.”
Jonathan Fuentes was the starting goalie for UC, but he was replaced not long after Westview scored on him with 32:03 to play in the first half. Fuentes did have two saves. Graham replaced Fuentes with Abram Carroll, but Westview was able to get the ball past him as well. He did have five saves in the game.
Graham is optimistic about the future of the program.
“We should be even better next season when we get this year’s eighth-graders on the team,” Graham said. “They only lost two games in middle school this season.”

Published in The Messenger 5.7.13