By RYAN ARENA

L’Observateur

East St. John played two games on Saturday as part of the Pearl River tournament, falling to West Jefferson 5-0 and tying East Jefferson 2-2.

Andrew Alexander and Antonio Guerrero each scored goals for ESJ against East Jefferson.

East St. John coach Paul Dupuy said that some defensive adjustments between games helped account for the improved performance against the Warriors.

“We played a flat four across the back, and Matt Fobb was playing midfielder,” said Dupuy. “He did a tremendous job defensively. We were able to trap them and keep them from getting behind the line. We’ve had a rough time when teams break past it.”

Much of ESJ’s difficulty has come with the absence of Joseph Perrilloux, the team’s top defender who has been out with an injury.

“When we’ve lost our battles, it’s usually right in for a score. So we’re trying to improve upon that and adjust,” said Dupuy.

East Jefferson led 1-0 in the first half when Alexander tied the game up by hitting a near “perfect” corner kick, according to Dupuy. East Jefferson’s goalkeeper “saved” the ball, but did so inside the net. It was ruled a score.

Alexander has been coming on as a scorer of late for ESJ.

“He’s stepping up for us,” said Dupuy. “He’s a smaller guy, but he’s really added a stronger shot to his arsenal. He’ll help us out this season.”

East Jefferson went ahead 2-1 in the second half, but Guerrero tied the game midway through the second half, scoring on a short shot after splitting a double-team.

“He got hammered by them and he still broke through and scored,” said Dupuy.

From there, each team was able to hold the other in check.

“We played great defense, especially in the final minute,” said Dupuy. “Ricky Williams did a real nice job in the goal for us.”

Things unraveled quickly for ESJ (2-6-1) against West Jefferson, who Dupuy credited for having a highly skilled team.

“They hit a couple of shots on us, and it hurt our confidence,” he said.

On a wet field, Dupuy said his own team’s speed might have hurt them.

“You’d run but you couldn’t really stop. We were overrunning things,” said Dupuy. “We’d be spinning our wheels and losing the ball.”