Tue, May 29, 2018 07:41 AM 
DES MOINES - A hot start by West Des Moines Valley was too much for Des Moines Roosevelt as the Tigers rolled to a 3-0 victory, scoring all three goals in the first half. In a rematch of 2017 State Quarterfinal, top-ranked Valley jumped on top early in the game with Gabe Sherman prodding the ball home from a corner kick in the 18th minute. Shortly thereafter, another set piece was delivered by junior Renzo Graham and finished by sophomore Mark Breiner. Before Roosevelt could react, another Valley attack put pressure on the Roosevelt defense and the ball popped out to Jordy Triana who made no mistake as he smashed a full volley past Roosevelt goalkeeper, Edwin Garcia. At this point, Valley was buzzing and it was all Roosevelt could do to get into halftime. Valley coach Aziz Haffar likely would have been praising his team’s efforts, but he wasn’t happy with their reaction after the break. The introduction of Roosevelt senior, Christian Tavera provided the spark they were missing and he linked up well with Baraka Ellie, both of them spraying balls from midfield and driving the team forward. They created several chances, even hitting the post late in the game, but Valley’s defense anchored by senior Ethan Curry and sophomore goalkeeper Kevin Qi stood strong for a well-earned clean sheet. Roosevelt boss Sean Holmes was disappointed after the match and while the scoreline reflects a heavy defeat for the Roughriders, their reaction was notable and could be a hint of what’s to come later in the season. Also noteworthy, local clubs had a heavy influence on the game as well, with several members of the successful Des Moines Menace ‘99/’00 playing against each other, along with some strong young talent on either team from Sporting Iowa and Vision Soccer Academy. The underlying narrative of the club relationships provided for an overall absorbing encounter. The Tigers will welcome Mason City on Thursday, April 19 before they travel to Sioux City on the weekend for games against Sioux City West, Sioux City North and Sioux City East. The Roughriders continue their busy schedule with trips to play the Urbandale Jayhawks and Fort Dodge Dodgers on Thursday, April 19 and Friday, April 20, respectively. Be sure to check out the Kick It Forward Twitter feed @kick_forward and Facebook page @kickitforwardia for highlights of the game.