Stateline Preps: Beloit soccer rising
In one of the best matches I’ve witnessed in a long time, Beloit Memorial took eighth-ranked Madison Memorial to the limit on Thursday night at Jacobson Field.
Unfortunately, for the Purple Knights, they fell a little short, losing 3-2.
But there’s little doubt as to how much Beloit has improved this season.
If there’s been a better coaching job than what Brian Denu has done, I’d like to see it.
With that said, expectations have changed at Beloit Memorial. No longer are the Knights the doormat of the league.
Even when Beloit fell behind 1-0 in the first two minutes of Thursday’s game, there wasn’t a sense of impending doom. And for good reason.
When Marco Garcia tied the game 1-1 in the first half, you could almost see confidence oozing out of the Knights.
Even behind 3-1, Andrew Hammes got the Knights closer with a laser-like goal, giving more hope to the Beloit fans.
One Beloit student summed it up best when he shouted, “I bet you didn’t expect this Madison!”
No they didn’t.
Now that Beloit is back to being competitive in the Big Eight, they must learn how to finish games. The Knights’ four conference losses have been by one goal.
Who knows if they can get over that hump this year? Maybe some rumored reinforcements might do the trick. Who knows?
With spirits at an all-time high, t
Beloit Memorial's Patrick Gathof
here’s even talk of scheduling Hononegah for a match next year.
That may have sounded like a joke a few years ago, but it doesn’t seem so funny or far-fetched now. Not for the Knights.
Not for their opponents.
The Knights are for real.
