vikingssportsn Hopewell wasted little time setting the tone against South Side, scoring within the opening two minutes and never relinquishing control on its way to a 5-0 victory.
The Vikings received goals from NyKyeron Leonora, Quincy Sannan, RJ Arthur, while Tallon Coleman turned away every South Side opportunity to preserve the clean sheet.
Hopewell’s first goal came almost immediately. RJ Bushnell carried the ball down the field and found Sannan, who connected with Leonora for the finish to put the Vikings ahead 1-0 less than two minutes into the game.
Hopewell continued creating chances following the early goal. Tyler Armour found Sannan for an attempt over the net, while Leonora later connected with Sannan on another dangerous opportunity. Sannan worked his way around the South Side goalkeeper and nearly capitalized on the open net, but the Vikings were unable to finish the chance.
Bushnell generated another opportunity when he dribbled into position and fired a shot that forced a diving save from the South Side goalkeeper and resulted in a Hopewell corner.
Hopewell eventually broke through for its second goal when Sam Wrzesniewski delivered a long ball up the field to Sannan, who finished the opportunity to extend the Vikings advantage to 2-0.
Hopewell continued attacking from there. Jaidyn Shoemaker sent a dangerous ball into the middle for Will Arzberger, whose header sailed just over the net. Aaden Gonzalez also created an opportunity by dribbling through several defenders before getting off a shot.
The Vikings were active defensively as well. Arzberger made a pair of strong reads to step into plays and win possession, while Elijah Persi-Jones, Dominic Buchanan and Wrzesniewski repeatedly contributed from the back line.
South Side began generating more pressure as the half progressed, but Coleman was there every time. Coleman made several saves during the opening 40 minutes, including a stop on a South Side free kick and a diving save after the Rams broke through during an offensive press. South Side had one final opportunity on a corner at the end of the half, but Coleman again secured the ball to send Hopewell into halftime with a 2-0 lead.
The Vikings came out of the break looking for more. Gonzalez and Armour quickly combined, with Gonzalez finding Armour before getting the return pass for a shot. Shoemaker followed with an impressive run before putting the ball into the middle for Leonora, but the South Side goalkeeper came off his line to collect it.
Hopewell continued putting together quality passing sequences. Gonazalez found Armour, who connected with Shoemaker for an attempt that was deflected by the goalkeeper. Sannan was there looking for the rebound, but South Side survived the sequence. Coleman also showed his ability to read the field, coming well off his line to intercept a long South Side ball and clear the danger before an attacker could reach it.
Hopewell’s third goal finally arrived through another Gonzalez-Sannan combination.
Gonzalez found Sannan, who took over from there, maneuvering through several South Side defenders before beating the goalkeeper to make it 3-0. It was Sannan’s second goal of the night with the assist from Gonzalez.
Sannan went for the hat trick when Kaleb Gonzalez completed a solid throw-in to A. Gonzalez, who again found Sannan for a chance that narrowly missed the net.
The fourth Hopewell goal of the night could come when Leonora was able to gain control of the ball and juggled his way through multiple South Side defenders before putting it into the net for his second goal, extending Hopewell’s lead to 4-0.
Even with the four-goal advantage, Hopewell continued creating opportunities throughout its lineup.
Elijah Rodriguez provided an offensive spark after entering the game, settling the ball and carrying it toward the goal for an attempt that was handled by the South Side goalkeeper. Later, Buchanan delivered a long ball forward that Rodriguez controlled before taking the attack all the way toward the goal for another shot.
Caine Sullivan also challenged the goalkeeper with a long-range attempt from around 30 yards, while Bushnell completed another long run up the field and connected with Gonzale, who lofted the ball outside toward Armour for a header that went over the net. Parker Hoth nearly added another goal when Armour delivered the ball into the middle for Hoth, who shot forced a strong save from the South Side goalkeeper.
Hopewell’s final goal provided one more highlight- and a memorable moment for RJ Arthur.
Coleman started the play from the back with a long kick up the field to Arthur, who took it from there, working through the South Side defense before delivering a strong finish into the net for his first goal of the season and Hopewell’s fifth of the night.
Hopewell was able to get contributions throughout its lineup down the stretch, including minutes from James Pistorius and Joshua Liptak, as the Vikings closed out the victory.
Leonora and Sannan each finished with two goals, Sannan added an assist, Gonzalez contributed an assist, Wrzesniewski added an assist, and Coleman capped a shutout performance by helping initiate the final scoring play.
FINAL SCORE: Hopewell 5 South Side 0
Hopewell (3-2-1) will return to action tonight at Tony Dorsett Stadium as they host Ambridge on Senior Recognition Night.
It’s also Food Truck Night so stop on over, have dinner and check out this developing program.
The JV match tonight vs. Ambridge will begin at 6 PM, with Senior Recognition at 7 PM, followed by the Varsity match at 7:30 PM.
