Aiden Hall got the perfect birthday present on Tuesday night — a win over previously undefeated Windham.
“I came in here knowing they were undefeated and I wanted to end that,” said Hall after the game, a 2-1 win for the ConVal boys’ soccer team.
Hall got the party started in the first half, when he dumped the ball off to Max Sturges at midfield and went screaming down the left sideline calling for the ball.
“I knew they weren’t tracking their weak side and I saw that Max had plenty of space,” Hall said, “so I called for it hoping it would land right where I wanted it. He placed it perfectly.”
Hall let it bounce once and then flicked it with his head, up over the keepers’ fingertips and into the net.
For a time, it looked like the score might stand at 1-0, but Windham’s stalwart captain Kyle Cocciardi drove a ball with a wicked curve past Noah Bell, the only blemish on an otherwise tremendous night for the ConVal keeper.
With things knotted at one, it got tense, as Windham received two free kicks in rapid succession from just outside the Cougar box.
“I was definitely nervous but I believed in our team,” Hall said.
Bell stood strong between the pipes, and shortly thereafter, Micah Black corralled a loose ball in the box and struck it home from the six-yard mark.
“It felt super good,” Black said of his game-winning goal. “It’s our first under the lights game, it’s my best friend’s birthday, it felt great.”
Now, ConVal is part of a four-way tie for first place in Division II, a spot they’ll defend Friday night when they host Trinity (2-5-1) at 4 p.m.
“We know it’s a target on our back,” Hall said. “We can’t take it for granted.”