The Greyhounds notched their first win of the winter soccer campaign in a Jan. 20 home clash with West County, blanking the visitors, 1-0.
The win was a welcome result in a season interrupted by COVID, and a good sign for a young, building squad.
“It was a good game for us,” Hounds veteran coach Herbert Lemus said. “We decided to change our formation and moved personnel around to accommodate it. We just let West County come to us and we would counter them in the space created by them when moving forward.”
The strategy worked to perfection, with Healdsburg getting the lone goal of the game when junior forward Edgar Campos received a through pass from senior forward Azael Gonzalez from 20 yards out and drove it into the net. The Healdsburg defense did the rest as the Greyhounds dug in for a 1-0 victory.
The Hounds played host to Cardinal Newman two nights earlier, spotting the Cardinals a pair of early goals to trail 2-0 at the half.
Healdsburg got it going offensively in the second half as senior defender Jesus Perez converted a free kick from 25 yards out, but the Cardinals would hang on for an eventual, 3-1 win.
“It took us almost 20 minutes to get going and that’s what dictated the outcome of the game,” Lemus noted.
Next up for Healdsburg (1-3, 1-1) is a Jan. 26 home date with Ukiah. The Hounds will visit Roseland University Prep in Santa Rosa on Friday, Jan. 28. Both varsity matches will start at 7 p.m. and allow a total of 100 spectators (including teams and referees).
