Grant boys soccer overwhelms Roosevelt 5-0 in PIL opener

ST. JOHN’S—Grant boys soccer needed less than 10 seconds to seize a lead over Roosevelt High School on Tuesday, Sept. 30, and rode that initial momentum to a 5-0 win. Grant (6-2-1) improves to 1-0 in the PIL, while Roosevelt (4-4-1) will look for a first league win elsewhere.

The win also marked the sixth straight game without a goal conceded. The Generals have now gone 480 minutes without being scored upon. Part of that defensive success is Grant returning it’s entire backline of senior Owen Bonnin, senior Liam Siel and junior Callum Broadfoot to the lineup. It’s paying dividends so far; Grant has conceded just six goals. That mark is, as of Sept. 30, tied for fifth best in the state at 6A.

According to Grant coach Erik Miller, the backline returning is a boon but the shutouts have been a result of a collective effort.

“I’m fortunate to bring back the backline that we had last year,” Miller said. “The goalkeeper…it’s not just our backline, we pride ourselves on everyone being able to contribute defensively. We’ve got six clean sheets, that’s not bad.”

The visiting Generals took the lead within the first 10 seconds of play, scoring thanks to senior midfielder Henry Wines and a junior Sawyer Brakken assist. It couldn’t get any better in the early goings of the first half.

Grant scored twice more in the first 15 minutes, with a goal from senior Arly Hindery at the 27:49 mark, and a third goal from junior Ewan Massimino at 25:20. Grant took a 3-0 lead into the halftime break and had all the momentum in its corner. Roosevelt mustered fewer shots on goal, no corner kicks and much less position on its heels in the first 40 minutes.

“We’ve had a few quick starts but I think with each game we’ve been getting better and better and the offense has been clicking more and more, and tonight you just saw things firing on all cylinders,” Miller said. “I’ve been waiting for it, I think the team has been waiting for it, and I think there’s not much more to say, but it was nice to see tonight. To get the early start.”

The gameplay in the second half was stronger for the Roughriders but they were still unable to find the back of the net. Meanwhile Grant added two more goals in the second half, one of which was a nifty free kick goal courtesy of Bonnin with 21:19 to go in the game.

Grant’s win stretched its unbeaten streak to 6-0-1 since dropping a pair of contests to West Linn and McNary to start the season. The Generals, who are reigning co-champions of the PIL with Franklin and Lincoln, have been on a league championship trajectory to start the year.

But for Miller, the journey to a league title for his squad begins with the next play.

“For us, our approach is one game at a time,” Miller said. “We’re just working on our foundation and sticking to our standards and doing what we wanted to this whole season. If that happens, that happens.

“But we’re really not focused on that, we’re just focused on supporting each other and next man up,” Miller continued. “Trying to focus on every play, every game, treat it all the same and not get ahead of ourselves. Hopefully we stick to that.”

Grant (6-2-1) hosts Ida B. Wells (7-1-1) on Thursday, Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. The Guardians are coming off a 2-1 league opener win versus Franklin.

Roosevelt (4-4-1) meanwhile travels to Lincoln (6-2-1) on the same night. Lincoln is coming off a 1-0 win over Cleveland on Tuesday.