FINDLAY – The 2019 boys soccer season came to a close Tuesday night. The Little Giants were a scrappy team who battled night-in and night-out and they ended their season in the same fashion.
Just a week ago, the Findlay Trojans defeated the Little Giants by 11 goals. Tuesday, Ross trailed at halftime by a single goal and by four with 10 minutes remaining. The Trojans added three quick goals in the final minutes against Ross’ reserves as the Little Giants saw their season end with a 7-0 loss in the district tournament.
“Our guys gave it their all with the limited amount of firepower we had, the starters and, I think, only one or two subs played in the first half,” coach Alex Coressel said. “They battled and gave them a run for their money.
“I was proud of the effort they gave. We lost bad to Findlay last week, but they didn’t look at that as the way this result would be tonight. They came out and battled their hearts out and left it all out on the field.”
Coressel said the Trojans’ depth, and the ability it gives them to keep high-quality, fresh players on the field, took its toll on the Little Giants.
“We started to run out of gas and probably after the third goal, we were toast,” Coressel said. “Guy after guy comes in (playing) at the same level, we just kind of wore out.”
The Little Giants close out their season with an 8-8-1 record, their fourth-straight season with a .500 record or better. They also now have to say good-bye seniors who’ve been fixtures of the program for years in Mason DeWalt, Chris Navarro, Alec Slemmer, Isaac Minor, Cesar Flores as well as Silvestre Alonso.
“We’re going to have to have some guys step up next season, just like we’ve had the last couple years, but this group will leave a big hole,” Coressel said. “There are two very good defenders, a couple attacking players that provide speed and give us with some other options (that we’re losing). We have a whole bunch of young players that are freshmen that have a season and will have to learn and get in the weight room in a month or month and a half and start getting ready for the next go-around.”