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BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS
Sports Editor, RTC
PLYMOUTH — Argos boys soccer coach Todd VanDerWeele is back on the sidelines, but the time for celebration will have to wait.
Wednesday’s game against Plymouth was just too frustrating.
Ethan Petz scored a goal and assisted on Keagan Stanley’s goal in the second half, but the Dragons fell to the Pilgrims 7-2 at Kindt Field.
Uriel Rebollo scored four goals for Plymouth, and Hector Rebollo, Mika Juneger and Parker Hansen scored once each.
Plymouth held a brief ceremony acknowledging coach Jesus Jimenez Garcia’s first career win after the game, but the visiting coach just being back on the bench was noteworthy: VanDerWeele had not coached a game since last September as he recuperated from cancer.
VanDerWeele used a cane to walk but said that he is not limited in his coaching and that he can coach the team to its usual standard. A 1991 Argos grad, VanDerWeele is in his 17th season as Argos coach. The Dragons have won 12 sectionals, eight regionals, two semistates and the 2019 state title during his tenure.
VanDerWeele said his last scans have been “clear.”
“As far as I know, everything’s good,” VanDerWeele said. “Other than appointments, it really shouldn’t limit me. I have been a little more fatigued so far this year, but some of that is being in my 50s now, my early 50s. … I can’t quite demonstrate things like I used to.”
While VanDerWeele is back, Argos played without senior Luke Stults. Stults received a red card in last year’s regional final loss against Park Tudor, and per IHSAA rules, he received a one-game suspension. He is expected back for Saturday’s Hoosier North opener at Caston.
Argos also played much of the game without senior midfielder Ben Zahm.
Zahm suffered a head injury leaping up for a header in the first half. The trainer said he was “pretty sure” Zahm suffered a concussion, according to VanDerWeele.
Five freshmen received playing time for Argos. One of them, Angelo McMillen, started at goalkeeper.
Uriel Rebollo scored when he took a pass on the run from the right wing and scored past McMillen with 36:41 left in the half.
Petz tied it on a counter after McMillen jumped out of the cage and cut down on Rebollo’s angle in front and knocked down his shot.
The ball deflected to Boyd Paul, who then found a running Petz who scored at the other end.
But Plymouth scored twice within 70 seconds to take a 3-1 lead.
Angel Mencias sent a corner in front of the net, and an unmarked Hector Rebollo scored with the rest of the Argos defense minding the far post.
Another Uriel Rebollo goal made it 3-1, and when Hansen scored off another assist from Isaak Hutchinson flying in from the right flank with 56 seconds left in the half, it was 4-1.
Argos scored the first goal of the second half when Petz attracted a crowd in the box and dished to his left to Stanley, who finished past goalkeeper Jacob Aguilar to make it 4-2.
Juneger converted a juicy rebound yielded by McMillen with 27:06 left to make it 5-2.
An Uriel Rebollo finish with his heel off a nifty Hector Rebollo assist made it 6-2.
When Uriel Rebollo scored again with 18:27 left, that triggered a running clock for the rest of the game.
“The thing is, I thought Corbin (Rex) and Mekhi (Austin) played really well together for their first time this year out (because) through the summer we weren’t able to get them together with vacations and stuff, but I thought those guys did really well,” VanDerWeele said when asked about the defensive issues. “We got split too much. That was the start of it, and then as we got behind, we got a little desperate, and our one-v-one defending fell apart. Instead of containing, and we were committing and letting them dribble around, and we wanted them about that. So that’s something we’re really going to have to work on the next two days because those guys on the ball, you’ve got to keep them in front of you and make them get it off their foot and defend as a unit. We did poorly at that at the worst times tonight.”
VanDerWeele said the offense was also mistake-prone.
“We got fired up with the goals, which was great, but we just made too many errors, and that’s something I’ve noticed we’ve been a little sloppy at times, and every time we get sloppy, we get punished,” VanDerWeele said. “When we keep things clean, we do OK. We weren’t sloppy all night; we were just sloppy at some bad times. The end of the first half especially just killed us.”
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