ROCHESTER USES BIG SECOND HALF TO TOP AVONDALE, 4-1

The Rochester Falcons exploded for three second half goals en route to a 4-1 win over the host Auburn Hills Avondale Yellow Jackets on Tuesday night. With the game tied 1-1 at halftime, the Falcons made some adjustments designed to jump start their offense in the second half, and those adjustments paid big dividends. Rochester took the lead for good with 26:26 remaining when Lucianno Errecalde threaded a cross to John Agoubi who was waiting on the back post for a comfortable tap in to make it 2-1. About six minutes later, it was Agoubi’s turn to set up Errecalde in front for a 3-1 lead. And the Falcons capped the scoring with 14:25 to play when George Zagrodski was fouled in the penalty area and Grant Ellison stepped up to convert the penalty kick, making it 4-1. “We really turned it up. We made some adjustments at halftime formation wise, and we really executed in the second half,” Rochester head coach Chris Purgatori said. “Give credit to Avondale, they’re going to be a good team in the OAA Red. Any time we can get a win in OAA Red, we’ll take it. They did some stuff that kind of stymied us. We got into halftime where we could make some big time adjustments, and it paid off in the second half.” Avondale had their chances in this one, especially in the first half. The Yellow Jackets had the advantage in the opening minutes, earning a series of set pieces, and for much of the first half the Yellow Jacket counter attack was able to get forward with purpose. But it wasn’t until just before half time that Avondale was finally able to dent the scoreboard when Nick Kubert picked the pocket of one of the Rochester defenders and raced in on a clean breakaway, slotting the ball past the charging goalkeeper to tie the game 1-1. “We had some opportunities. We’re a young team this year, so that kind of hurts us in depth and when guys get tired and we have to swap out, Rochester took advantage in the second half,” Avondale head coach Mike Joa said. For Rochester (1-0, 1-0 OAA Red), it was the Falcons’s first game of the season as they look toward another strong season on the heels of last year’s run to the state semifinals. “We can take a lot out of this. Obviously, there is a lot to work on offensively and defensively. We’re really just starting to gel. We had five guys out, so we’re just getting everyone back. We haven’t even had a full practice yet,” Purgatori said. “So you take out of this some good things. In the second half, there were a lot of good things we can take out of it.” Next up for the Falcons is a crossover game against Bloomfield Hills on Thursday. For a young Avondale team, the game showed some promise and gave them things to build on as they step up to the OAA Red division. “We made the game tough. It was competitive until that little short span,” Joa said. “I think we held up in the back against a good, fast team. I think we know what we’re doing at the center mid. But first league game, I think it teaches the guys on how tough and competitive it’s going to be and that it’s a full 80 minute game – two halves. And I think that was the issue tonight is we didn’t play a full 80 minutes, we played probably 70 minutes tonight.” The Yellow Jackets (0-2, 0-1 OAA Red) will be back in action on Thursday when they travel to Clawson to face the Trojans.

ROCHESTER USES BIG SECOND HALF TO TOP AVONDALE, 4-1

Photo Credit: Ken Swart

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