Portland Hearts of Pine 3, Westchester 2: Three Thoughts
Growing up, plus two more points.
Portland Hearts of Pine collected three crucial road points when they defeated Westchester SC 3-2 on Sunday night.
Here are three thoughts from the game.
Conceding First
Westchester opened the scoring in the 17th minute via a well-worked goal.
After receiving the ball out wide, Josh Drake moved centrally, creating space for Noah Powder. Drake found Powder, who played a cross that Ermin Mackic finished.
Fortunately for Hearts, Westchester had conceded 27 points from winning positions before Sunday’s game. Their most recent loss makes that stat even more glaring.
That said, Hearts have developed a tendency to allow the first goal, something they will surely want to address. They could’ve gone down two if not for a heroic save by Hunter Morris in the 25th minute.
Growing Up
Head coach Bobby Murphy had a great quote after the 10-man Hearts defeated the Pittsburgh Riverhounds in a shootout on July 25th.
He said, “I think you're watching a lot of them grow up. You know, they're playing men's football now, and they're starting to look more like men than they did two months ago, I would say. I think they're coming to grips with what being a professional means, and really accepting that challenge.”
Scoring three goals to secure a lead before halftime is proof that this team is coming together and learning to deal with adversity.
Titus Washington got on the end of a well-timed pass from Walter Varela. Then Ollie Wright collected a Varela ball to give his team the lead. Wright fed Nathan Messer to go up 3-1.
A strike by Prince Saydee pulled back a goal before the break.
No one optimizes the idea of growth more than Washington, a first-year professional out of Seattle University.
His hold-up play has improved, as has his runs. Most importantly, he’s regularly finding the back of the net. He has four goals in his last five appearances.
Shout Outs
Varela, who began the year as a first-choice player, made the most of a rare start, as he created three chances and had two assists.
The attacker was dynamic, often starting wide before moving in or back. The competition between him and JayTee Kamara is one to keep an eye on.
Sega Coulibaly is coming into his own as an experienced centerback. One thing that stood out to me on Sunday was his ability to outmaneuver players and advance the ball.