HAMMOND | The shot-to-goal ratio may not have been ideal, but it was good enough for Bishop Noll to come away with a 3-0 win over Michigan City Marquette in the boys soccer Sectional 33 opener Monday.
The more aggressive team all night, the Warriors took 25 shots in the match to Marquette's three.
"I told these guys at halftime, the ball movement and everything was good," Bishop Noll coach Armando Garza said, "but it doesn't do any good when you take that many shots and you only get two in there."
The Warriors finally broke through when Aaron Garza scored in at 22:57.
Garza stepped up from his midfield position and cut through the heart of the Marquette defense, beating keeper Reagan Deporter with a shot to the bottom, left corner of the goal.
"I only had one defender to take, so I decided to take him," Garza said. "I saw the left side of the goal open so I just decided to take the shot."
After Garza's goal, the flood gates opened. B.N.I. put almost a shot per minute on Deporter for the rest of the half. Just before the break, Garza hit Angel Zamudio with a corner kick and Zamudio promptly deposited the ball into the back of the net.
"It means a lot (to score just before the half), coach Garza said. "I was even getting nervous."
Luis Soto added the final goal in the 62nd minute on a Garza assist.
Deporter was between the pipes in place of the injured Patrick Roder, who suffered a concussion Saturday on the field. Roper was on the sidelines, showing support.
"It was a really big, emotional boost (to have Roper there). The guys went through a really hard ordeal on Saturday," coach Matt Fletcher said. "In the last 72 hours, they were on an emotional roller coaster. It showed today that we were just mentally and physically exhausted."
Both coaches applauded the effort put forth by Deporter, who hasn't played goalie in four years. He finished with nine saves.
"He was under attack the whole game," Fletcher said. "Reagan really stepped up to the challenge."
"That goalie made some pretty good saves," coach Garza said.
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