After starting the season with three consecutive matchups on the road, the Warriors boys soccer team returned to Cleveland Stadium for their home opener against Glencoe High School on Sept. 12. Cleveland came into the game with a 2-1 record, and Glencoe entered at 1-2-1. But from the start it was clear that the Crimson Tide defense was overmatched against the Warriors’ attacking line. Senior forwards Solomon Barnett, Beckett Jockin, and Logan Puppo constantly annoyed the Glencoe defense with the amount of chances they had in the first 20 minutes.

Cleveland’s determined attack got their reward in the 26th minute, when Noah Johnson played a ball into the box towards Miles Jeffery. Jeffery played a quick one-two with Filippo Gallo and then slotted the ball into the bottom left corner. Cleveland continued to dominate the attacking, and nearly got a reward before halftime. A Glencoe corner fell to the feet of Barnett who led a Warrior counterattack. With no support, Barnett took on the entire Crimson Tide defense, and sprinted down the field before just missing the goal.

The second half began similarly to the first half, although Glencoe’s attack was able to find a rhythm and put pressure on the Warriors’ back line. In the 51st minute, Gavin Hartwig played a ball into the Glencoe penalty area. The clearance attempt from the Crimson Tide was awkwardly hit straight up in the air, and Logan Puppo reached it first and volleyed it over the Glencoe goalkeeper to give Cleveland a 2-0 lead.

Cleveland nearly got a third when the Crimson Tide defense failed to pick up Hartwig running down the left wing, and Hartwig cut in and smashed it into the top right corner. Unfortunately, Hartwig was ruled offside and the goal did not count. In the final 10 minutes of action, Cleveland failed to clear a Glencoe corner out of the box, and in the midst of it the Crimson Tide got on the scoresheet to make it 2-1. The Warriors hung on in the final minutes of the game, and came away with a 2-1 win.