Colin Nguyen makes a pass under heavy pressure from ESA defenders. 

Junior midfielder Evan Lipari put on a clinic against Catholic High, scoring five goals in Monday’s 8-0 win to extend ESA’s winning streak to seven games.

Lipari, who leads ESA’s offense in several key stats, scored one goal in the first half before adding four more in the second, including two shots late in the game from over 30 yards out.

Head coach Adam Glover praised Lipari’s performance, both with and without the ball.

“Every time he gets the ball you know something is going to happen,” Glover said. “His stats don’t lie; I think he has 31 goals and 25 assists right now. He can hold on to the ball and, nine times out of ten, he is going to make something happen. He’s a special player and we’re lucky to have him.”

Lipari said that the win on Monday was a culmination of hard work and practice from the team. After a 2-1 loss to Captain Shreve in the Teurlings Catholic Tournament, ESA rallied back to return to their winning ways and haven’t slowed down since.

“I feel like it’s the best game that we’ve played all year,’ Lipari said after the win. “We faced a quality opponent. They were definitely there in the first half and this win didn’t just come from one game. We lost to Captain Shreve, our first loss of the year, and we reacted to that in a good way. We didn’t sulk about it, we went right back out and beat Southside and that has set us up for success for the rest of the year.”

The Falcons (13-1-3) entered the game on a hot streak, having won six straight games and sitting in the No. 2 spot in the Division IV power rankings. The win against Catholic High sealed yet another District 4-IV championship for the Falcons.

Glover said that his team is flying high and playing with confidence as they finalize their district schedule.

“We’re enjoying playing soccer right now,” he said. “That’s the number one thing when you’re playing the game, to enjoy it. We’re playing well, getting the job done, and we’re making minimal mistakes, which is good. We haven’t conceded many goals and we’re putting the ball in the back of the net. Our players are in-form right now, which is great to see.”

Against Catholic High, the Falcons established control of the game early and kept the tempo high as they launched attack after attack at the Panther goal. Glover said that the game plan was always to compress the field and keep the momentum on their side.

“Early on in the game, you could see what they were trying to do,” he explained. “Just trying to get that ball up to find Christian (Pope) and Colin (Nguyen). We knew that if we could keep the ball at their end of the field and press them, that we were going to be successful. That’s where we’re best, when we win the ball in their defensive third and especially when Evan gets on the ball. He’s a threat anywhere on the field as he showed today with the five goals.”

With a 3-0 lead going into the halftime break, ESA returned to the field hungry to add even more goals to their tally. Lipari wasted no time adding the game’s fourth goal, sending in a well-placed shot to the near post. His hat-trick goal came shortly after, a 40-yard rocket that split apart Catholic High’s well-drilled defense.

Lipari said that his long-range shooting came down to confidence in his abilities.

“It’s all about confidence,” he explained. “At the beginning of the game I was talking to the ref and he was asking me if I was going to shoot one on target and I was like ‘dude, I’m trying.’ You have to build up to it and I’ve learned that my whole career, if it doesn’t go in the first time you just keep going.”

Glover said that he was happy with the 8-goal win, praising not only his offense but also his defenders.

“These boys know that we have to be patient sometimes, we’re not always going to score that early goal,” Glover said. “It’s nice to score early on, but when we don’t we know that we have to start again, recycle, and maybe go the other way. We have good ball players all over the field and the back line can play. We have Greer (Hernandez) back there who is usually a center midfielder, so he’s comfortable on the ball. We know that we have to draw them out and sometimes play ugly with a ball over the top which worked a couple of times tonight.”

Sitting in the No. 2 spot in Division IV is a familiar feeling for ESA, but after a shocking loss to St. Thomas Aquinas in the second round last season, Glover said that his team is ready to make waves this year.

“We talk about that a lot,” Glover said of last year’s loss. “We always talk about when we have poor moments. Last year we lost 9-1 to Sulphur, that was always in the back of our mind. We feel like last year was a fluke loss. Those two injuries the day before hurt us, but we know that we’re a year older now and that we can definitely make noise in the playoffs. That’s what we’re aiming to do this year, we’re aiming to go all the way.”

Lipari agreed, adding that the team is hitting their best run of form at just the right moment.

“I think we’re heating up at the right time,” he said. “Our division is really strong this year, so all the teams at the top are really quality teams. It all depends on how we play and if we play them right now, I think it would be good. I think that opponents don’t want to play us right now, but we’re ready to face anyone at this point. We’re definitely confident right now.”

ESA will return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Erath to face the Bobcats. Kick off is scheduled for 6 p.m.