The Chargers pretty much controlled the game from start to finish, but that's not to say there weren't some tense moments for the Bath faithful.

When a Knight striker cleaned up a shot that Charger keeper Alex Cauley had stopped, but then let slip through his hands, James River had found just the opening it was looking for. The goal pulled the Knights to within one at 2-1 with 25 minutes to play in the second half. It would be the only mistake Cauley would make in a brilliant game between the posts, but at the time it pressed Bath's back firmly against the wall.

With the lead narrowed to one, the next 19 minutes were filled with the match's most intense play. The Chargers fortified their defense and James River attacked Bath's half of the field with feverish purpose. The Chargers were able to counterattack at times, but the game was mainly fought out at midfield and near the Bath goal.

As the clock dwindled, the Chargers' counterattacks became more frequent and more dangerous. Several Bath runs, however, were cut short by offsides penalties.

At the 5:50 mark, Charger sweeper Whitney Lacks snapped the tension by beating the James River keeper in a one-on-one 15 yards in front of the goal. The score was set up by Gates Herscher who drew the defense to him as he dribbled along the right side and then found a wide-open Lacks in front of the goal.
A minute later, Cauley closed the door on the Knights' hopes for a rally, coming up with two amazing saves. A James River attackman shook free inside the box and fired a hard shot at the right side of the Bath net. Cauley dove, deflected the shot, and then managed - while still on the ground - to bat down another quick shot off the rebound before his defense was able to clear the ball.

Tony Walters iced the game with 3:15 left, making a run down the right side, beating his man, and pushing one past the Knight keeper from 15 yards out.

In the closing minutes the Chargers put together a couple more near-misses, as defenders Jim King and George Hicklin both stormed up field and came close to finding the back of the net, before their runs were snubbed by River's defense.

"Today counted and they showed up," said Bath coach Urs Mueller. "That's the team I was looking for."

He said the match had been a stark contrast to the team's 2-1 loss at Faith Christian last Thursday, which was marked by missed opportunities and a breakdown in team play.

Mueller credited Cauley as a big reason for the win. "Pretty much everything that came past, Alex took care of," he said. "He ruled back there. Except for that one goal, he was flawless." Cauley ended the match with 14 saves.

Mueller rattled off a long list of players who had stepped up, saying the win had been a team effort. "It was just everybody," he said. Sprouse had come up big with two goals. Herscher had some "genius passes," he said. Lacks, Hicklin, and King played solid defense. Cody Nelson stepped up as a wing defender. James LaCour and Jamie Bryant played strong at defensive midfield. Along with a pretty assist in the first half, Woodzell had cleaned up when he was moved back on defense to help protect the lead.
As one of the quickest players on the team, Woodzell often uses his speed as Bath's striker, but against River he was pulled back throughout the game to serve as the last man to beat to the goal - much like a safety in football.

"It's a good win," Mueller said.

In the Faith game last Thursday, Bath took the early lead off a Woodzell goal in the opening minutes, but it was all down hill from there. Faith scored on a crossing pass later in the half and tacked on the final goal with a free kick.

Mueller said it was an ugly game as his team struggled to put something together for nearly all of the 90 minutes.

"They just had too much time on their hands," he said. The team traveled with the girls' squad and arrived three hours before the opening whistle.

Bath is 3-4 overall and 1-0 in the district.