Eastlake Boys Soccer: Wolves Topple Garfield 3-0

The boys' soccer squad (12-3-2) put together three goals in a nine minute span of the first half to take control and cruise to a 3-0 win over ninth-ranked Garfield High School (16-3-1).

The team played Saturday in the state quarterfinals at Eastlake High School. At stake, was a berth in the state semifinals on Friday night in Lakewood.

The visiting Bulldogs came out flying in the opening 10 minutes, creating pressure on the Wolves defense. Led by Michael Gallagher, they held up strong allowing the attack time to get rolling later in the first half.

James Gee and Sean Klauer struck first for Eastlake as their tireless efforts to create chances paid off, especially in the 21st minute. Klauer outhustled the Garfield defender creating a turnover and then he broke away, beating Bulldog goalie Jackson White to give the Wolves a 2-0 lead.

Shortly after that Gerard Galvin, a senior, sealed the contest for Eastlake with a brilliantly-executed header off a corner kick, pushing the Wolves lead to 3-0.

"Evan (Yamada) played a great ball, and my teammates did a great job creating the space for me," Galvin said. "It's something we practice on all the time."

Eastlake coach Adam Gervis was pleased with his team's ability to cash in on scoring chances against Garfield.

"Really, really nice game," Gervis said. "We had three chances and buried them all." 

The second half for the Wolves became more of a battle of taking pressure from the Bulldogs and counteracting it with tough tackling and possession. Except for a couple shots hitting the crossbar, Eastlake continually kept Garfield in check and earning a clean sheet for the Wolves defense.

Gervis was ecstatic about his team's performance. "To have a shutout against (Garfield), says a heck of a lot because they are a very, very good team," he said. 

With a matchup pending against seventh-ranked Kentwood in the state semifinals, both Galvin and Gervis are eager to take on the next challenge.

"This senior year has been exactly what I wanted so far,"Galvin said. "We want to win a state championship."

Gervis said: "This is where the fun really begins, we have to focus in on the next step."

He also lauded the total team effort of his players in getting to the final four.

"We have a great group of kids," Gervis said.

Eastlake will take on Kentwood on Friday in the State 4A Boys Soccer Semifinals at Harry Lang Stadium in Lakewood. The start time is 6 p.m.

Editor's note: The boys' soccer team also won on Saturday and will play in the state semifinals on Friday.