By Tom Price Jr.
It seems as though the Exeter boys soccer team never knows which way the ball is going to bounce. Battling injuries and a low player turnout, they have managed a 2-2 start in league play, most recently defeating Corcoran 2-0 on Thursday.
But just when the ball bounced their direction it skipped away with the news that forward Jacob Bryant was leaving the team for disciplinary reasons. Bryant, a tall and aggressive soccer player, recently returned to the team after recovering from an injury and added some much needed spark to the Monarchs' offensive front.
"Jacob was a third year varsity player," Exeter coach Jesus Banuelos said. "Because of his size he creates problems with matchups. It's going to hurt us, but hopefully not too much."
In his last game in the lineup the Monarchs shutout Corcoran and got goals from Ivan Rivera and Matt Downs to secure their second league victory.
"Our whole defensive unit played well in that game," Banuelos said. "Drew Hutcheson was good on defense. He had plenty of depth and covered the angles well."
The win carries them into their games with Orosi and Lindsay this week and Banuelos hopes they can take the next step.
"The win gives us the fusion hopefully to propel us into the next game," Banuelos said. "The playoffs is a very viable thing for this team, but if we get any more injuries it could be a problem."
Earlier in the week the Monarchs fell to Dinuba in penalty kicks after missing numerous opportunities to break a 2-2 tie in regulation. In that game they got goals from Francisco Sanchez and Downs.
