Athens posts clean sheet in Heugh’s return to Rochester

BY DAN STICKRADT

SENIOR EDITOR

dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com

ROCHESTER HILLS — Coaching against Rochester has some special meaning for Todd Heugh — and in more ways than one.

The first-year Troy Athens boys soccer coach spent six seasons on the Falcons’ sidelines coaching Rochester’s boys (2000-05), while he also coached the Falcons’ girls program for 11 seasons (2001-2011).

Additionally, Heugh is a Troy Athens grad, having played multiple games on Rochester’s field against the Falcons as a prep player in the late 1980s.

In his first game on Rochester’s field wearing Athens’ red, yellow and white colors in more than two decades, Heugh’s Red Hawks took advantage of some slick conditions and posted a 3-0 clean sheet over Rochester in an OAA Red Division match.

“This had some personal meaning for me. To the players, it was just a (league) game,” admitted Heugh, trying to keep his Red Hawks in the OAA Red Division chase.

The last time Heugh wore his alma mater’s colors on Rochester’s field, he was a senior in high school. That was the 1989 fall season, where Heugh and the Red Hawks edged Rochester, 1-0, in quadruple overtime in a Class A district semifinals. Athens went on to capture the state championship that season.

Heugh coached Rochester’s Division 1 state championship boys squad in 2002 and the Falcons’ girls D-1 state runner-up squad in 2007.

SEEKING SCORING OPPORTUNITIES: Troy Athens' Sunny Shettigar scored a goal Wednesday in the Red Hawks' 3-0 clean sheet over Rochester. File Photo | Dan Stickradt

This time around, the game was only a conference matchup, but became a huge stepping stone for the Red Hawks, who posted a middle-of-the-pack finish a year ago. It marked their fourth shutout of the season and also a season-high for goals scored in a game.

“We’ve had some problems finishing. We’ve talked about going on a little bit of a streak. We’ve been shut out three times, but we also have four shutouts,” offered Heugh. “It’s like we’re getting shut out or we’re shutting teams out. We played well last week against Troy (a 1-0 loss) and gave up a goal. Since then we’re on a little bit of a streak. We’re 2-0-1 since then. We’re above five hundred overall and above five-hundred in the league. We’re just trying to get better as the season goes along.”

Athens took advantage of Rochester’s first-year goalkeeper Matt Hawes, who converted from being a field player over the summer. Hawes has only yielded 10 goals in seven games for Rochester, but had not played a game between the pipes in rainy conditions.

“Everything I’ve read is (Hawes) playing well and him stepping up to take the (goalkeeping) spot (for Rochester),” noted Heugh. “A lot of it had to do with us, No. 1, trying to generate some offense and everything not having to be perfect (to shoot). No. 2 the weather played a factor. If there were shots where we could try to skip in and get second balls, that’s what we were really trying to do.”

With the game being played under a constant drizzle, the Red Hawks attempted shots from up close and from long-range, seeking rebounds and loose balls. The plan worked for Athens (4-3-1, 2-1).

Athens outshot Rochester 13-6, including 11-3 with shots on frame. The Red Hawks scored a goal from 30 yards out and two others came off rebounds in the penalty box in handing Rochester its most lopsided defeat of the season.

Senior midfielder Alex Serwatka scored a goal and set the table on two others in leading the Red Hawks.

Serwatka laced a shot through traffic that found the netting next to the left goal post with 26:02 left in the first half. That proved to be the game-winner, but not the end of the scoring for Athens.

Sunny Shettigar made it 2-0 with 2:27 left in the first half when he deposited a rebound following a shot by Serwatka.

Tim Freiman capped the scoring for Athens, finishing off a helper from Serwatka with 26:42 remaining in the second half.

Injury-riddled Rochester (1-2-4, 0-2-2) already learned weeks ago that freshman Nash Popovik would miss the season with an injury and found out Monday that third-year starting junior Miles Dale would have knee surgery and would miss the remainder of the season. Additionally, sophomore midfielder Spiro Pilakos has only played in two games and will not return until next week and several other players have been in and out of the lineup with nagging injuries.

“The injuries hurt,. It’s been an injury-riddled year for sure. But I can’t make excuses. We have talent on this team,” said Rochester coach Chris Purgatori. “This is one of those games were we throw out the tape and move on. We just didn’t play well.”

Rochester had two grand scoring chances in the first half, one coming when the game was still tied 0-0, but both chances saw an Athens defender clear a shot off the goal line.

Athens goalkeepers Brett Schmitz and Sam Ward shared the shutout, while Hawes made eight stops in a losing effort for Rochester.

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Tags: boys soccer, high school boys soccer, OAA Red Division Boys Soccer, Prep Boys Soccer, Rochester Boys Soccer, soccer, Todd Heugh, Troy Athens Boys Soccer

Category: High School, High School (M-Z), Prep Wraps, Rochester, Troy Athens