No one needed more proof, but the Salisbury boys soccer team provided it anyway.
The Hornets carved out a resounding 3-0 victory over visiting West Rowan Thursday night and remain, quite clearly now, the lead float in the county parade.
“I don’t ever want to profess that we’re the best because we could go down any night,” coach Tom Sexton said, choosing his words carefully. “But so far, we’ve done our work.”
Salisbury (4-1-1) played hermetically sealed defense, particularly in a rain-plagued second half, to beat West for the second time in 15 days. The Hornets have also posted a win and a tie against high-powered South Rowan.
“We’ve always thought we were one of the best teams in the county,” said keeper Seth Ruhlman. “But after last year, when we lost to South and lost to West, we really needed to prove it.”
Ruhlman did his part. The acrobatic senior hung out the “Access Denied” sign, recording 10 saves and helping his team earn its first shutout.
“I’ve been telling the guys, ‘If we keep the zero, we win the game,’” said halfback Daniel Butner. “Our first couple games we were a little sketchy defensively. But this was, without a doubt, our best defensive game.”
Defensive standouts were the impenetrable Jeremy Rehders, Nick Gregory, Drew Griffith and especially Daniel Wallace. “Somebody else dominated the middle tonight,” said Sexton. “Daniel Wallace played the best stopper position he’s played in his life. He ate everything up.”
West (2-4), which suffered its third loss this week, had several good scoring opportunities. There was Brian Armada’s 15-yard, head-on shot that crashed off the crossbar with Ruhlman out of position in the game’s sixth minute.
Later in the first half, West forward Azem Mulalic whistled a 10-yard shot that Ruhlman failed to control. The rebound pinballed to Armada, alone on the doorstep, but he lifted a shot over the cage.
“We had only a few chances, but they were good chances,” said West coach Rob Sweet. “We couldn’t finish. We started off all right, then just kind of faded. Maybe our legs were tired.”
Salisbury opened the scoring when Butner pumped a 20-yard shot past West keeper Tyler Parker midway through the first half. Ten minutes later teammate Lynden Zuniga Roto-Rootered a 10-yard grounder through a crowd of defenders and past Parker.
“He finds spaces,” said Sexton. “Zuniga hasn’t scored a lot of goals, but he’s going to. He’s got two feet that are like rockets. Right now he’s like Butner, always looking to pass first.”
Salisbury closed the scoring 19 minutes into the second half when Alex Beaver outran the West defense and popped a shot from left wing that eluded Parker.
“Lynden played a great ball from behind half field — over the top of the defense and right on my foot,” said Beaver, a former Falcon. “It was perfect.”
On this night, so was Salisbury’s two-way game.
“We were solid,” said Sexton. “We covered for each other in the back and our chemistry, our connections, were the best they’ve been all year. It’s early, but you can sense there’s something special going on here.”
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NOTES: Both teams return to action Wednesday. Salisbury opens its CCC season at unbeaten West Stokes while the Falcons host South Rowan. ... West forward Andrew Belk needed two staples to close a wound after he was spiked in the back of the head in the game’s second minute. He returned in the second half. ... Michael Wetter, West’s top scorer with eight goals, was held scoreless for the first time.
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