Each fall, Polk County’s men’s varsity soccer team meets East Lincoln, to toughen up against the Mustangs, and prepare for the rest of the season.

On Monday, Aug. 31 at Polk, a second-half goal by Isaias Akers tied the match, 3-3, but the Mustangs scored another and held on for a 4-3 win.

The Wolverines, who were shorthanded early in the match, fell to 1-3. With less than five minutes gone in the match, an East Lincoln throw-in resulted in a Mustang goal, when Polk’s back-up goaltender instinctively touched the ball, which went into the net. Throw-ins cannot go for goals if untouched.

That put Polk down by one.

For the first 20 to 25 minutes, “We never seemed to have the ball,” said Wolverine head coach Lennox Charles.

Actually, Polk did have the ball, but did not control it as well as did East Lincoln. “We were in so much of a rush to get forward all the time,” Charles added.

Polk had to adjust, and eventually did, to the Mustangs’ technique of playing an extra man in the middle. When the Wolverines brought a couple of outside-mids into the middle, they had better success, scoring on a Jeremy Allsbrook goal with 7:23 left in the first half. That score cut East Lincoln’s lead to 2-1.

With just over seven minutes gone in the second half, Polk tied the match when Isaias Akers fed Will Rimer who booted it in. About five minutes later,

East Lincoln took the lead on a goal by Daniel Kosmala.

With 14:07 remaining in the game, Rimer aggressively took the ball down the right side, and kicked to Akers, who kicked it in to tie the score at three.

However, with just over eight minutes to go, Jose Zavala scored the last goal of the match.

“Whenever we matched up with them (East Lincoln) in the middle,” Charles observed, “we did really well.”

This Thursday evening, Polk hosts East Henderson, with match time set for 5:50.

On Sept. 9, the Wolverines host Shelby in more non-conference play.