BETHALTO – Civic Memorial's boys soccer team has struggled in recent years, finishing last season with a 2-16-1 mark.
The Eagles hope to change that this season and got off to a good start with a 7-0 non-conference win over Roxana at Bethalto Sports Complex Monday evening.
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CM got off to a great start when junior Caleb Bassett scored on the first shot of the season, with an assist from Colin Hall, in the second minute of the match, the first of two goals for him on the evening.
“He doesn't want to do too much,” said CM coach Derek Jarman of Bassett. “He could have drove to the net a few times and he didn't, he laid it off. He plays well with these guys, and he just wants to fit in (with his teammates).
“He's just so unselfish and he's willing to do the best thing for these guys. I can't appreciate it enough; he makes everyone better.”
“I thought we played very well for our first game,” Bassett said. “We had some really good passes, had some really good moments. We just capitalized on everything.
“It feels great; I just put one away for the team,” he said of scoring on his first shot of the year.
“They're obviously a well-coached team, they have a lot of talent and a lot of camaraderie,” said new Roxana coach Jamie Futrell. “It was a tough match for our opener; we're going through some changes, but we're rebuilding.”
Bassett scored a second goal for CM in the 10th minute off a Mikey Stevenson assist to extend the lead to 2-0, with a third goal coming from senior co-captain Trevor Paynik in the 27th minute. It could had been much worse for the Shells as goalkeeper Dawson Klunk stood on his head to make some big saves. “He stood on his head a few times,” Futrell said.
Junior co-captain Kameron Denney extended the lead to 4-0 in the 35th minute, with Keante Hardimon scoring in the 58th minute to put the lead at 5-0. A 72nd-minute goal from Paynik and a 77th-minute goal from Stevenson, Nic Vaughn asissting, ended the scoring for the match.
Jacoby Robinson recorded the clean sheet for the Eagles without having to make a save; Klunk wound up recording 13 saves for the Shells, who had one shot on goal for the match. CM recorded 30 shots on goal and had seven corner kicks to Roxana's one.
Next up for the Eagles is a Metro Cup match against Trenton Wesclin in Freeburg Wednesday, while the Shells travel to Staunton for a Thursday match.
