Warhorses keep rolling with win over Mitchell

Owen extends winning streak to three games with 9-0 victory

Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
September 27, 2022

A season of transition has done little to slow the offensive attack of the Owen Warhorses, who extended their winning streak to three games, Sept. 26, in a 9-0 victory over Mitchell.

Seven players scored goals in the win, as first-year head coach Trei Morrison and his team improved to 2-0 in the Western Highlands Conference, and 8-2-1, overall.

Owen played their first two matches of the season under longtime head coach David Fiest, who guided the team to a 10-0 conference mark in 2021. Fiest, who won more soccer games than any coach in school history and multiple conference championships during his time with the program, moved out of the area to begin a new career.

The Warhorse roster, which includes 11 seniors from last year’s conference championship team, proved more than capable of handling the transition, according to Morrison, one-time Mars Hill University coach and former director of the Asheville Buncombe Youth Soccer Association Highland Football Club Boys Classic program.

The new coach was already familiar with many of the Owen players when he stepped into his current position, which assisted in the transition process.

“It was extremely helpful,” he said. “I had coached several of these players prior to coming here, and with me being the (HFC) director, all of our teams played a certain way. So, even though I hadn’t worked with each individual, all of the (Owen) players had an idea of the way I want to play soccer.”

Morrison is 6-2 through his first eight games as the Warhorse head coach.

“This is a really mature group, and everyone on the team takes responsibility for the way we work and play, everyday,” he said. “They’ve all stepped up.”

Team effort was a theme in Monday’s win against Mitchell, as multiple Warhorses got involved in the offensive attack. The effort was consistent with the message Morrison has emphasized since taking over the program.

“The main thing is improving our intensity,” he said. “It’s not really about each individual result, but really about us improving every day. When we get into the postseason tournament, we want to be ready to take on the high-caliber teams. To do that, we have to play with intensity, from start to finish.”

The Warhorses needed less than 15 minutes to find the back of the net against the Mountaineers, as junior assistant captain Abraham McTeague-Pospishil picked up his second goal of the season. Minutes later, junior Daniel Garcia scored his first of 2 goals in the contest.

Owen increased its first half lead to 3-0 at the 19:10 mark, when junior Josiah Wilder lofted a pass to sophomore Davis Kendall in front of the goal. Kendall, who leads the Warhorses with 18 goals this season, slid between the defenders for his first of two scores in the match.

The home team took a 7-0 lead into the half, before scoring a pair of goals in the first 14 minutes of the second half to trigger the nine-goal rule and end the match.

Seniors Nathan Schlect, Harrison Kendall and Alex Reyes-Alday each scored goals against Mitchell, while junior Elijah Caro collected his eighth of the season.

The Warhorses have outscored their opponents by a combined 25-0 in their last three matches, after losing, 2-1, to Hibriten on Sept. 12. With its sights set on a second consecutive conference championship, Owen will need to maintain consistency, according to Morrison.

“We have to make sure every time we train and every time we step on the field for a game, we’re focused and locked in,” he said. “We need to play to our standards, and focus on ourselves and not our opponent. If we’re cruising through these games, then we won’t be prepared in late October and early November.”

Owen will look to extend its streak on the road next week, with contests against Avery and Madison, returning to Warhorse Stadium at 6 p.m., Monday, Oct. 10, to host Draughn.

Photos from the Owen Warhorses match against the Mitchell Mountaineers can be viewed in the gallery at the top of the page.