EGELSTON TOWNSHIP – When you have two of the best offensive players in the area going head-to-head, you’re bound to have a great game, not to mention lots of scoring.
That was the case on Monday night when the Oakridge soccer team, led by scoring phenom Arturo Romero, faced off against neighborhood rival Orchard View, led by big scorer Corbin Russell.
Romero ended up outscoring Russell 4-3, and the Eagles walked away with a 6-3 victory in the annual battle for the Brooks Road Trophy.
The four goals brought Romero to an amazing 22 on the season, which is just four short of the Oakridge school record with more than half the season left to play.
Oakridge is now 6-1-1 on the season while Orchard View fell to 1-4. The Eagles won their fourth straight Brooks Road Trophy, which goes to the winner of the annual game.
“I’m impressed with Arturo, he’s a remarkable player,” Oakridge coach Greg Fleener said about his big scorer. “I continue to preach to the boys that we can be better, but the goal tonight was to beat Orchard View, and we did that.
“This game against Orchard View gave us a test of physicality. The guys all know each other well, it gets chippy and you have to make sure your guys don’t lose their heads.”
Oakridge opened the scoring with 29:32 remaining in the first half on a goal by Logan Hunt. The Eagles added another goal about two minutes later when Romero scored his first of the evening.
The Cardinals got on the board when Russell scored a penalty kick goal with 24:23 remaining in the first half. Romero and Russell then traded goals and Oakridge led 3-2 at halftime.
Russell scored his third goal about nine minutes into the second half, but Oakridge regained the lead when Ian Thompson found the net about two minutes later.
Romero then added his third and fourth goals down the stretch to ice the win for the Eagles.
Oakridge goalie Keegan Williamsen stopped 7 of the 10 shots he faced.
O-V goalie Brandon Todd stood tall all night against a barrage of 20 Oakridge shots, many by Romero. He ended up stopping 14.
“They have a phenomenal player in Arturo,” said Orchard View Coach Kyle Skodack. “Every time he touches the ball he is a scoring threat. We played well for the most part, we just had a few mental breakdowns. If we can fix and address those mistakes we can be a more competitive team and the results should start to turn in our favor.”
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