NORTH MANKATO — Wins aren’t always pretty, but they’re wins nonetheless.
Mankato West boys soccer proved that Tuesday night with a gritty 1-0 win over Westonka.
“We had a tough loss last week on Thursday, so really, this one just came down to mentality,” West head coach Gavin Mason said. “It wasn’t a pretty game, but we went out there and I think we outworked them, and we showed our grit. We showed that we’re capable of winning games even when we’re not at our best.”
With a shade under two minutes remaining until halftime, the Scarlets (2-2) finally broke through on the scoreboard.
Senior Christian Sulzle drifted wide and dumped the ball toward the middle of the field. Senior Isaac Ulman delivered a delicate tap of the ball, squirting it past an outstretched White Hawks goalie. The ball gently slid past the goal line for a 1-0 lead.
“We connected passes through the middle just like we wanted to,” Mason said. “We found a ball on a night like tonight where we didn’t feel like we necessarily played our best. Sometimes it just takes that one moment. One person getting on the end of it and putting in the back of the net.
“Tonight we were the team that did that.”
It came after a first half that saw West slowly chip away in its offensive zone. Even four corner kicks proved to be unsuccessful in hopes of obtaining the game’s first goal.
The first two opportunities were shooed away by Westonka. The third saw sophomore Kwayon Townsend get his head on the ball, but ultimately sailed out of play. The fourth attempt also fell short.
Then there senior Colton Westberg’s attempt at the 27-minute mark that sailed wide and right. There was junior Jakobe Tosch to senior Abdiaziz Abdullahi to sophomore Oliver Demars, but a leaping save from Westonka junior Spencer Putnam denied the Scarlets.
Nearly seven minutes later Ulman and sophomore Noah Wersal came up on a 2-on-1. Wersal’s first attempt was denied by Putman.
Then the ball squirted free with Putnam in no man’s land. Wersal gathered the rebound and attempted a shot on goal. But Putnam recovered in time, making the save with his hands to once again eliminate the threat.
The Scarlets trip to face Rochester Mayo 7 p.m. Thursday.