By PAUL GOTHAM
Mike Butler hoped his Greece Athena boys soccer team would come out against Canandaigua and play like it had something to prove.
The fourth-year coach didn’t get what he expected.
“Canandaigua didn’t play well, and we played down [to their level],” Butler said after Athena’s 3-1 victory. “We got some growing up to do as a group.”
There was every reason to think the Trojans would have a chip on their collective shoulders. Saddled with a four-game winless streak in which they had been outscored 8-3, the three-time sectional champs entered play Monday in the bottom half of Monroe County Division III.
Trevor Talone and CJ Takatch scored a goal apiece within a four-minute span early in the first half. Anthony Loiacono added another tally before the end of the first 40 minutes, but the Trojans did not put the game away after that.
“I am okay with Hilton,” Butler said referring to the Trojans 4-1 loss to the Cadets (7-1-1) last Saturday. “I thought we played hard. We just had some breakdowns defensively. That happens. That game helps us. I think it makes us better and pushes us to come along.
“But then the response should be let’s come out and really knock it around and get after it. We got a team that we should have handled pretty well because they’re young, and we didn’t.”
Particularly concerning for the fourth-year coach were the series of yellow card cautions his team received.
“We picked up three yellows off silly stuff,” Butler noted. “That can’t happen.”
Two of those yellow cards came in the opening moments of the second half when instead of taking a commanding lead, the Trojans struggled to put shots on frame.
“That’s what we got,” Butler stated. “If we’re going take a next step and be competitive in the end, which I think we will, we’ve got to get better.”
Talone’s first goal of the year came on a corner kick from the right flag. Dylan Rice gathered a rebound in the middle of the 18-yard box and found Talone open on the left side.
Takatch volleyed a Loiacono cross for his ninth tally of the season.
Antonio Monti collected a Yamsuk Simsek cross from the right corner and shuttled a pass to Loiacono for a point blank blast inside the box and a 3-nil Athena lead.
Robert Stirrup had Athena’s best chance to increase the lead when he let fly from 35 yards, but the senior midfielder drilled the crossbar.
Aden Forcier scored the lone Canandaigua (1-8-0) goal. The junior midfielder took a Joe Herrick cross from the right wing and finished in the left side netting for his third goal of the year.
Forcier had a chance to cut the margin to one with less than two minutes to go when his blast from outside the 18-yard box skimmed the crossbar.
The contest was part of the annual “Purple Game.” Boys and girls varsity and JV squads played simultaneously on four fields at Greece Athena. All proceeds from the event went to the Golisano Children’s Hospital to benefit families affected by cancer.
Athena plays at Brighton on Thursday. A 7:30 p.m. start is scheduled. Brighton won the first meeting between the two teams, 4-2.
Canandaigua plays Edison/Monroe on Thursday. A 4:30 p.m. kickoff is slated at Franklin High School
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