Good with 3: Trujillo leads Spartans to 4-1 win over West
By Jesse Newell
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
In his own mind, Adrian Trujillo believed he could have had five, maybe six goals against Topeka West on Tuesday night.
He still wasn’t about to complain, especially after his three-goal performance helped the Spartans to a 4-1 victory at the TRYSA Soccer Complex.
“I got three,” Trujillo said with a smile. “I can’t ask for more than that.”
After seeing his team’s one forward get crowded in previous matches, EHS coach Steve Pearson decided to move Trujillo to the position on Tuesday. His hope was to get a second forward up who could score.
The senior didn’t let him down.
“That was lucky. It was a good switch,” Pearson said. “Most things I do don’t work.”
Trujillo picked up his first tally in the 18th minute, as a shot from Luis Ibarra bounded off West’s keeper Nick Timer.
Carlos Antonio gathered the rebound, flicking it up toward the other side of the goal.
Trujillo sent it into the empty net with a header to make it 1-0.
He put in his second goal seven minutes later.
Following a nifty move, Alex Guevara centered a ball toward the left side of the goal.
Timer deflected it, but Trujillo was there for the easy tap-in to make it 2-0.
“All day,” Trujillo said, “our mids gave me a chance to score.”
The senior completed the hat trick just two minutes into the second half.
After an Antonio shot clanged off the crossbar, Trujillo gathered the ball in front of the goal. He made a move to his right to clear from two defenders, then rifled a shot past Timer for his first three-goal outing since last season.
Juan Rangel posted the Spartans’ other goal, putting in a penalty kick in the 68th minute.
The Spartans (7-1, 3-1 Centennial League) responded with a strong effort after losing their first game of the season last Thursday.
“We needed the loss, then we needed the win,” Pearson said. “We needed the loss to get the guys back on earth.”
The grounded Spartans dominated the statistics along with the score on Tuesday, posting 20 shots on goal to West’s five.
Keeper Spencer Anderson contributed four saves, with the only West goal coming via a penalty kick in the 32nd minute.
Pearson said his team also received a spark from Gary Rivera, who has played the three midfielder positions and forward for EHS.
Though the junior didn’t score, he came close. He almost registered a spectacular goal in the second half, reversing for a hard bicycle kick from the edge of the box that was grabbed by a lunging Timer.
Rivera also had a penalty kick in the final minutes but his shot again was blocked by Timer.
“I was just trying to score and help the team out,” Rivera said. “Hopefully I can get it next time.”
EHS will have a tough matchup Thursday, traveling to Manhattan.
Pearson believes his team has its confidence back after the win.
“We looked like we should have looked last week,” Pearson said. “The right team showed up.”
Emporia 4, Topeka West 1
Tuesday at Emporia
Topeka West 1 0 — 1
Emporia 2 2 — 4
First Half
Emp — Adrian Trujillo (Carlos Antonio), 18th minute
Emp — Adrian Trujillo (Alex Guevara), 25th minute
TW — Sergio Lira (penalty kick), 32nd minute
Second Half
Emp — Adrian Trujillo (unassisted), 42nd minute
Emp — Juan Rangel (penalty kick), 68th minute
Shots on goal — Topeka West 5, Emporia 20. Saves — Topeka West: Nick Timer 15, TEAM 1; Emporia: Spencer Anderson 4. Corner kicks — Topeka West 2, Emporia 9. Fouls — Topeka West 13, Emporia 10. Yellow card — Topeka West: Chris Jones.
Records — Topeka West (2-7-1), Emporia (7-1-0, 3-1-0 Centennial League).