Burlington Central bounces back, downs Hampshire

The Burlington Central boys soccer team rebounded from its first loss of the season with an overwhelming 5-2 victory Tuesday over rival Hampshire.

But the Rockets still weren't very happy.

"We played better than we did Saturday (a 4-0 loss to South Elgin)," Central senior Alejandro Nava said. "I don't think we're at the level we should be. I think we can play a lot better than this."

Central (5-1, 1-0 Big Northern East) allowed 4 second-half goals Saturday in its loss to South Elgin. The Rockets wanted to come out quickly Tuesday and forget all about that. They pressure early, attacking with a strong wind at their backs.

Central's Chris Gousois ran onto a through ball from Kyle Reopelle and scored past Whip-Purs goalkeeper Marcus Quick for a 1-0 lead 6 1/2 minutes into the match. Nava increased the lead after intercepting a clearing attempt from Quick, who finished with 12 saves, and scored from 40 yards out, catching Quick well off the goal line, with 26:31 remaining in the first half.

Erick Uribe scored twice in an 8-minute span later in the first half to give the Rockets a 4-0 halftime lead.

Hampshire (2-4-1, 0-1) did not have a shot in the opening 40 minutes.

"We were not good in the first half," Whip-Purs coach John Gosling said. "I'm not going to blame it all on the wind. The wind, their pressure and we gave the ball away too easy. We're a better team than that."

Hampshire was "better, but not a lot" in the second half, according to Gosling. Andrew Obmalay got the Whip-Purs on the scoreboard, converting a penalty kick he earned with 27:18 left in the second half.

Reopelle gave the Rockets a four-goal lead again with 20:13 left with a header off a long free kick Byrce Warner. Hampshire's Victor Miranda scored with 14:08 remaining to make it 5-2.

"I think we came down a little bit and we should have pumped up in the second half," Rockets coach Mike Gecan said. "I'm happy we got the win. I think the boys played OK, but I know they have another level that we're still trying to get to."