The story is getting old for Dowagiac boys soccer coach Mike Williams.
A good second half Monday wasn’t enough to overcome a poor first 40 minutes as Dowagiac fell to Plainwell, 6-1. The Trojans scored all six of their goals in the first half.
“Anytime we play good competition we play one good half and then one bad half,” said Williams, whose team fell to 10-3-2 overall and 3-3 in the Wolverine Conference. “We’re trying to figure out what we need to do in order to play a full 80 minutes against good, solid teams. We get tired of getting beat up and then we start playing or we’re ahead and we think we got (a win) and then we stop playing. One of the two is happening.”
The Chieftains were beat up in the first half by the defending conference champion Trojans with Zach Rush inflicting damage on the Chieftains. Rush scored four goals in the first half, including the first three Plainwell goals. Two of his goals came from five yards, one came from 10 yards and another came off a throw-in.
“We played very well tonight,” said Plainwell coach Garry Snyder, whose team improved to 6-12-1 overall and 3-2 in the league. “We really moved the ball well and that was a pleasant surprise. We don’t usually play very well on grass.
“We needed to get the win. We’re 5-12 and we’re used to being a much better team than that. We had a point to prove and have districts coming up.”
Plainwell lost 10 seniors off last year’s team, which also was a district champion.
The Trojans didn’t look like an inexperienced squad at the start against the Trojans, as Plainwell had nine of the first 12 shots on goal.
“I have two freshmen playing outside mids,” Williams said. “I had two starters out because of disciplinary reasons. When you have two starters out you can’t sub in like you normally do and it has an impact. But that’s no excuse because we played the second half fine. It’s the maturity level there and the confidence that they’re good enough to compete against good teams.”
After being outshot, 15-9 in the first half, responded with a much better performance in the second half. The Chieftains owned a 15-5 edge on the shots over the final 40 minutes.
“We weren’t playing and marking it up in the first half,” Williams said. “We laid back offensively. When we lay back offensively, we get hammered defensively. When we play more of a counter attack with more people attacking than just one we make progress.”
Craig Zebell had nine shots on goal in the second and finally was rewarded for his strong play with :54 left when he score from 10 yards. Zebell had one of his shots hit the left goal post. Dowagiac also had three other shots in the match hit the right or left goal post.
“He was unlucky,” Williams said about Zebell. “I told him to take (the ball) in more. If he had one guy to beat I wanted him to take it in. I knew he could be anyone on their team 1-on-1. He was hitting posts or hitting side by side. But he never stops. That’s his maturity level.”

PLAINWELL 6, DOWAGIAC 1
At Dowagiac
Halftime score: Plainwell 6, Dowagiac 0.

FIRST HALF
P_Zach Rush 32:51.
P_Rush 31:12.
P_Rush 24:37.
P_Chris Waechter 7:56.
P_Rush 6:01.
P_Jonathan Nord 3:47.

SECOND HALF
D_Craig Zebell :54.
Shots on goal: Plainwell 20, Dowagiac 24.
Goalie saves: Jeremy Young (P) 4, Paul Lamphere (D)_8.
Corner kicks: Plainwell 5, Dowagiac 0.
Varsity records: Plainwell 6-12-1 overall (3-2 Wolverine Conference), Dowagiac 10-3-2 overall (3-3 Wolverine Conference).