By Stephen Henderson

The Patrick County High School boys’ soccer teams competed in the Bassett Bengal Soccer Bash at the Smith River Soccer Complex Saturday.

Both boys’ and girls’ teams competed in varsity and junior varsity matchups; 14 boys’ teams and 12 girls’ teams started play at 9 a.m. and continued playing until well after 6 p.m. on the six soccer fields at the complex.

According to Oscar Tejeda, the boys’ team played Brookville, Altavista and Galileo teams in 40-minute “games.”

“I was extremely proud of our performance, overall,” Tejeda said. “This is the first time I have seen Patrick County play this well. We were able to move the ball well and played very balanced throughout the field,” he said. “Some of our strength is our speed, skill, and knowledge,” he added.

“We have done some changes to our formation this year, and so far it’s working out for us,” he said.

“I’m excited to have some depth on my bench this year,” said Tejeda. “The guys are having to battle for a starting spot each day which is making them better and harder for me, but that’s what all coaches want,” he said.

According to Tejeda, the Cougars struggled on finishing in their first two games. “We still scored, but we missed a lot,” he said. “We were able to create a lot of opportunities, and our shots were near, but just failed to catch the back of the net,” he explained.

“I would say we had control of the game in all three games by dominating in time of possession. We were able to put everything together in our final match scoring five goals in 40 minutes.” Tejeda said.

“I have to give these boys a hand for all their hard work, it’s starting to show. I have been involved with PC soccer for a long time now, five years in high school as a player and six years coaching, and I have to say that this is the best team I have been a part of,” Tejeda said.

“I believe we are going to have an exciting season this year. I would encourage all of our fans to come out and see us in action March 13, vs. Floyd at 7 p.m. Our games are going to be fun and exciting to watch,” he said.