By GRAHAM BROOKS / Staff Writer

HELENA–The Helena Huskies boys soccer team breezed through the second round of the AHSAA 4A-5A second round playoff matchup between the Carver Rams on Tuesday, May 3, after scoring double digit goals to move one-step closer to getting back to the state tournament.

Helena defeated Carver 10-0 with seven of the 10 goals coming in the second half.

In the first half Helena got on the board quickly, scoring two goals in the first six minutes of the game. The first goal coming from Jeremy Hughes, followed by Vincent Narvaez.

Helena head coach Zach Morgan said once his team started coming to the ball more and attacking, that’s when the goals came in bulk.

“I was surprised Carver came out pretty quick and they were just coming to the ball and that’s really all they were doing,” said Morgan. “We were sitting back just waiting for the ball and I told the guys at halftime that we got to step up to the ball and move the ball like we normally do and stop waiting for it. Once we did that we gained possession and played the ball around and eventually got the 10 goals.”

Hughes led the Huskies with three goals in the game, followed by Narvaez who finished with two.

Other Huskies who scored goals included Brennen Brown, Wynton Perry, Jason Nichols and Yeltsin Canales.

Morgan said his team worked a lot on corner and direct kicks in previous practices and the execution of those kicks is what stood out most in the win.

“I think we coalesced a little bit better with forwards and the midfielders, the through balls that allowed those players access to the goal and had better shots on goal and better opportunities,” said Morgan. “The other thing is we worked on direct kicks and corner kicks in the last couple practices and we scored a few on those kicks.”

With the win, Helena advances to the third round of the playoffs where they will travel to take on Demopolis on Saturday, May 7.

Helena improved their overall record to 15-7-2 on the season.