​Neri-Hernandez twins boost Eagles soccer in 5-3 win over Truman

by Michael Smith, Grain Valley News
 
 
The Grain Valley boys soccer team has changed its identity in the 2025 season.
 
The past few seasons, the Eagles were more of a defensive oriented team. They averaged just 2.18 goals and gave up 1.26 scores per game in 2024.
 
This season is much different.
 
The Grain Valley has shifted more toward an offensive focus and that was apparent in Monday’s Suburban White Conference contest against Truman.
 
The Eagles bumped their season average up to 2.66 goals per game as they scored a season-high five times in a 5-3 victory over the Patriots at Truman High School.
 
“It’s a little bit of a change in strategy,” Grain Valley boys soccer coach Brett Lewis said. “We have some guys who can score goals and create havoc up top. We are trying to create as many chances as we can while preventing as many counter attacks as we can.”
 
The recent emergence of sophomore Xavi Neri-Hernandez has been a big part of that as he’s scored four goals in his last three games. He had two against Truman to lead the Eagles (3-3, 1-2 conference)

“He’s been on a tear,” Lewis said of Xavi Neri-Hernandez. “He keeps creating opportunities and keeps finishing them. He’s becoming a play maker for us.”
 
Grain Valley controlled possession throughout and Neri-Hernandez was a big part of that as he had possession frequently when his team had the ball in the final third of the field.
 
“I think we did really well on keeping the pace,” Neri-Hernandez said. “Because when we were attacking, we would hold the ball and switch it around. We had a lot of good opportunities that could have been goals.”
 
Added Xavi’s twin brother Fredy Neri-Hernandez: “We have switched our formation to be more of an attacking mindset. We played our wingers up to create more chances.”
 
Despite the Eagles controlling possession, Truman (6-2, 4-2) struck first as senior forward Cameron Patton beat Eagles senior defender Gavyn Sunderman one-on-one and he pushed a breakaway inside the left post for a 1-0 lead in the 36th minute.
 
Grain Valley immediately responded in the 37th minute as senior Cohen Hackworth sent in a long pass from the left sideline. The pass found junior midfielder Alvi Miguel, who sent a short backward pass to Xavi Neri-Hernandez who tapped a shot in for the equalizer.
 
With 1 minute and 27 seconds left in the first half, sophomore defender Brett Bieri deked a Truman defender with a crossover dribble and from the top of the box, blasted a shot into the upper 90 of Truman’s goal and out of the reach of goalkeeper Amimu Shabani for a 2-1 advantage.
 
“When (the Neri-Hernandez brothers) can finish, they make themselves so valuable on the field,” Lewis said. “I think tonight we had close to 25 shots and we just have to put the ball in the back of the net. When they are doing that, it just puts a gap between them and some others vying for some minutes.”
 
The Patriots got the equalizer in the 59th minute when Patton blasted a shot that bounced off the hands of Grain Valley goalkeeper Luke Crawford and senior Noel Recarte put in a short rebound.
 
Fredy then put his team up for good when junior Cooper Bousselot sent a through ball inside Truman’s penalty box. It bounced over the head of Hackworth and Fredy cut it back and slotted the ball inside the far post to make it 3-2 in the 60th minute.
 
“That was a good clinical finish,” Lewis said of Fredy’s goal. “We need more of that.”
 
Xavi put his team up 4-2 after a ball bounced off a Grain Valley player. He then hit a header on a rebound off the bottom of the crossbar, the ball bounced around and crossed the goal line with 8:43 left.
 
Truman junior Sam Melton made a penalty kick after the Eagles committed a foul inside their penalty box to make it 4-3 with 7:46 left.
 
Both teams had a player receive a red card, so they were playing 10-on-10. Crawford was one of the players to receive a red card as the lead official deemed he collected a ball outside the penalty box.
 
Backup goalkeeper Charlie Bergantine made two critical saves in the last five minutes to help the Eagles preserve their one goal lead. Miguel scored off a counter attack as time expired to put it away.
 
“Charlie came in and had a good save on a free kick,” Lewis said of Bergantine. “He also made a couple of saves he should make. He held it down.”
 

Grain Valley twin brothers Xavier, left, and Freddy Neri-Hernandez powered the offense of the boys soccer team as they combined for three goals in a 5-3 win over Truman Monday on the road.
Photo credit: Michael Smith, Grain Valley News
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