Despite being out-chanced 10-4, Byron-Bergen/Elba converted three of their scoring chances and defeated host Kendall 3-0 in boys’ soccer.
The Bees jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 4:07 into the contest as senior midfielder Kyle Foeller found the upper right corner of the net from 30 yards out.
They added to their lead in the 19th minute as senior Sam Pringle sent a perfect through-pass to freshman Gianni Ferrara for their second goal.
“Gianni has a great shot, so I was just trying to get him the ball there – glad to have him up there for us,” Pringle said.
From that point on, Kendall had the better scoring opportunities but failed to convert.
Senior Brian Gonzalez hit the outside of the right post prior to halftime, junior Jacob Esposito found himself in alone twice over a four-minute span mishitting on the first attempt and sending the ball wide of the left post on the second.
Byron-Bergen goalkeeper Nick Baubie made three of his six saves over a nine span later in the second half to thwart more Eagles scoring chances as he stopped a header from senior Brian Shaw, stopped a direct kick from 30 yards out that was ticketed for inside the left post in the 73rd minute and made a diving stop off a corner kick on sophomore Michael McCue’s shot in the 77th minute.
The Bees extended their lead to 3-0 at 78:11 as Pringle took a pass from junior Josh Swapceinski, dribbled around a defender and around a charging goalkeeper before finding the back of the net.
“I had a bunch of chances, so it was good to have one go in, Pringle said. “Overall we had too many open lanes and that led to the ratio of shots.”
Baubie preserved his shutout in the final 90 seconds as he stopped a direct kick from Eagles junior Troy Raufeisen, that was headed on net by Shaw.
Byron-Bergen/Elba, through its first three contests, has outscored its opponents 11-4 and attempted 51 shots while Kendall was still looking for their first win of the young season with an 0-1-1 record.
