Charlestown Pirate Soccer (2-3-1 & 0-1-1 MSC) hosted Scottsburg Thursday evening, playing to a scoreless tie in conference play in the Bone Yard.  “Tonight, we finished with our first tie of the season.  I will start by saying the Pirate’s played hard.  I feel they were concentrating on the game and showed strong effort. Unfortunately, I did observe some poor decision-making on the field.  I believe we could have beat Scottsburg, but it just didn’t happen.  All we can do is keep working hard,” summarized Head Coach Christian Martinez.  The Pirates are scheduled to host conference rival Silver Creek, who fell to Salem (2-1) Thursday evening, Tuesday on Dutch Reis Field at 6:00 pm.

The Charlestown Pirate Soccer team traveled to Madison for a non-conference clash with the Cubs.  The Junior Varsity recorded a 5-0 win however the Varsity fell 1-3.  “Tonight was another game where we lost our concentration.  It was very unfortunate that the Pirate’s lost the help of their captain due to a head injury.  Madison was an organized team and put up a difficult match, winning 3-1.  Hopefully the Pirate’s learned some more things tonight and will continue to put forth a good effort.  I have high hopes for our upcoming home game”, summarized Pirate Head Coach Christian Martinez.  Charlestown sole goal came in the second half at the 5 minute mark by Pascual Gonzalez with an assist by Andrew Mattingly.  The night ended with the Pirates taking 22 shots, which 10 were on goal with Madison taking 13 shots, with 7 on goal.  Pirate Goalie Matt Parrella had 4 saves and allowed three.  The Pirates will next host Scottsburg in MSC play.

Wednesday evening, the Pirate Soccer team hosted Louisville Southern High School at Dutch Reis Field, falling 2-6 to cap a very busy game week for Charlestown.  “Southern High School is another strong team we had to face for game three of three this week.  They were very skilled to say the least”, commented Pirate Head Coach Christian Martinez.  Bryce Wray scored the first Pirate goal at the 32 minute mark on an assist from Andrew Mattingly, and the second Pirate of the game came at the three minute mark of the second half by Andrew Mattingly.  “Even though we lost our game, the Pirates played from their hearts.  Unfortunately, two of the starter players were unable to play and that left the team with less subs.  That is definitely not what cost us the game, though.  All the boys played the best I have seen so far this season and I am so very happy with the effort and teamwork I have witnessed. I am sure the Pirates are tired after three tough games in a row, and I hope they are able to get good rest over the next few days”, concluded Coach Martinez.

The night ended with the Pirates taking 6 shots, which 2 were on goal with Southern taking 20 shots, with 15 on goal. Pirate Goalie Matt Parrella finished with 9 saves and 6 allowed.

The Pirate Soccer team traveled to Corydon for their conference opener Tuesday evening, and second of a three in a row stretch this week.  “Tonight, we lost our first game of the season, against Corydon 5-1, and they proved to be a very strong team”, commented Pirate Coach Christian Martinez.  The Pirates scored an early goal at the 1 minute mark by Sergio Bolanos with an assist from Bryce Wray.  “I got the impression that the Pirates became overconfident at that point.  We lost our positions in the field, allowing Corydon to win”, explained Coach Martinez.  Corydon tacted on two more goals in the first half to take a 3-1 lead to halftime.

“During half time, we had our normal discussion about the errors made in the first half and how to improve in the second half.  However, it just didn’t work out this time.  We continued to make the same errors, which cost us two more goals”, stated Coach Martinez.

After a post-game discussion with the team, “I feel they understand the areas that were not as strong tonight and know what they can do to improve.  I continue to be proud of this group and there was a lesson to be learned tonight. You win some, and you lose some.  I will never be disappointed when they try so hard”, Coach concluded.

The night ended with the Pirates taking 12 shots, which 6 were on goal with Corydon taking 20 shots, with 11 on goal. Our goalie Matt Parrella had 6 saves and 5 allowed.

Next matchup is:  Wednesday vs. Southern High School

Traveling to Henryville for a non-conference match Monday kicked off a busy week for Pirate Soccer; as they travel to Corydon tonight (Tuesday) for a big conference contest, then host Louisville Southern on Wednesday.  During the first half, Charlestown (2-0) led the game by maintaining possession of the ball and by being aggressive, while still playing clean.  Anthony Carey scored the first Pirate goal of the night at the 22 minute mark with an assist by Gryphon Barding.  Unfortunately, a mistake in defense allowed Henryville to score and tie the game 1-1 at the break.

At half time, the Charlestown players and Coach Martinez discussed the mistakes that were made during the first half.  The Pirates went into the remainder of the game with a better and more secure way to play.  “Being a new coach with a fresh set of eyes for high school soccer, I must say that Henryville was a difficult team to play against.  They have great skills, are appropriately aggressive, and were especially strong while playing at their home field”, commented Charlestown Head Coach Christian Martinez.

During the second half, the Pirates were still able to maintain possession of the ball, but had more opportunity to take more shots.  Charlestown’s second goal, and ultimate game winner, came from Sergio Bolanos at the 22 minute mark with an assist from Bryson Andasol.

“I am very pleased with the outcome, of course.  However, I do want to note that both teams played hard and played well.  I especially want to acknowledge the fact that my boys never game up and kept a positive attitude throughout the game.  It is our second victory for this fresh season and I am very proud of the teamwork I have witnessed during these first couple of games”, concluded Coach Martinez.

Charlestown recorded 12 shots, 5 on goal, for two goals on the evening; while Pirate Goalie Matt Parrella finished with four saves and allowing only score.