Boys prep soccer: Defense sparks Wildcats to victory

RINGGOLD — Dan River forward Ricky Ferguson received a pass from K.J. Jones in the middle of the box, gathered it up and quickly passed it to Daniel Rogers, who was coming hard from the left side.

Rogers whiffed on his first shot attempt — which threw the defense off — so the senior connected on his second try, and it found the back of the net.

That netted Ferguson his second assist of the game to go along with an early goal that propelled Dan River to a 4-0 victory over Galileo Magnet High School on Tuesday.

“I think our team played great on the buildup and, overall, I think our team did really well,” Ferguson said. “We passed good, and we set up as a good team.”

Dan River’s offense controlled the match as the Falcons (0-1, 0-1 Dogwood) got only one shot on goal — coming the first half that was stopped by Nathan Keller. Keller and replacement Casey Saunders did not face any other shots on goal.

Meanwhile, Galileo goalkeeper Thomas Boulware stopped 16 of the 20 Dan River shots on net.

“We looked a little rough. We have a lot of young players and some players who have never played before,” Galileo coach Raliegh Cox said. “Thomas, our goalkeeper, I was very impressed. He had a lot of shots on goal, and he remained composed and got a lot of saves.”

Ferguson hooked up with Tyler Adkins midway through the first half when the sophomore left a pass right in front of the net, and Adkins put it through to put the Wildcats (2-3, 1-0 Dogwood) up two goals.

Michael Foust finished out the scoring after a pass from Donnie Ingram ricocheted off Boulware and landed right in front of the senior Wildcat, who easily put it in the back of the net.

“That’s definitely what we had trouble with in transition, moving the ball from defense,” Cox said.

It wasn’t until late in the second half that Galileo was able to advance the ball past midfield and get a chance to attack the Wildcats’ net. However, the Falcons were unable to get any shots on goal.

“That’s our second shutout, as a matter of fact. They’re playing very well,” Dan River coach Craig Saunders said. “They’re setting the ball up and passing, they’re not selfish. They’ll give the ball to an open teammate and that’s something that’s come along this year.

“I’m real proud of them. I’ve got two seniors who had never scored in high school — Mike Foust and Daniel Rogers — so I’m really proud of them.”