BYRON CENTER, Mich. — Catholic Central boys soccer beat South Christian on Monday 3-1. The first time the Cougars have beat the Sailors in two years.
Manny Bedola-Reyes notched back-to-back goals in less than a minute in the middle of the first half. It was 2-0 at halftime. In the second, South's Will Kuiphof scored for the sailors, cutting the lead in half. But a few minutes later, off a corner kick, CC's Conor Neilson scored the third and final goal for the Cougs.
"Last year when we lost district finals, I left crying. I was trying to win for my captain. It feels great, got two goals. I was trying to get a hat trick but that didn't happen. We got the win against a hard opponent, shout out them. It was my fourth time playing them, it's never easy but we got the dub today," said Bedola-Reyes.
"It felt good after such a long time losing to them. They always play good, they have a good, strong, athletic team," said goalie Marco Narvaez-Diaz.
"The last two years we've been knocked out at this field from South. Two years ago they made it to state and lost, and we lost to them in the regional final. And then last year we lost to them in the district final and they went on to win state. It's a great feeling to beat such a great team. They're really well coached. A very difficult team to be honest, just because they have a little bit of everything. They have ball possession, they have size, they have long throw ins and corners, so it was great," said Head Coach Joey Barone.
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