RED SPRINGS – Junior Greyson Heustess recorded a ‘Hat Trick’ of 3 goals, and senior Brooks McGill dished out 6 assists to lead East Bladen to a 9-0 Three Rivers Conference men’s soccer victory over Red Springs.
Sophomore Jake Evans opened the scoring for the winners in the 16th minute. “Jake took a short corner kick from Brooks, cut in on his right foot and buried a rocket shot into the back of the net,” said Eagle Coach Jay Raynor.
Twelve minutes later senior Caleb Hatchell took a McGill pass and banged a header past the keeper from a yard out. In the 38th minute Hatchell sent a pass to Heustess who knocked in a shot from 3 yards out for a 3-0 lead.
Later in the half McGill rifled a hard pass to junior Irvin Hernandez who found Heustess open. Heustess nailed the shot from 8 yards out for a 4-0 halftime lead.
Two minutes after halftime Hatchell turned another feed from McGill into his second goal of the game. Eight minutes later Heustess knocked in a rebound from 5 yards out. A McGill pass to Hernandez set up the shot attempt that Heustess finished.
A minute later McGill sent a pass into the box that freshman Jay McKoy fired in from 6 yards out. Four minutes later junior Pierce Melvin connected with Evans who headed a pass to McGill. McGill popped in the shot from 8 yards out for an 8-0 lead.
McGill blasted in a penalty kick to end the game on the mercy rule in the 78th minute.
“We played well and moved the ball well on their smaller pitch,” said Raynor. “It was very tight, but we adjusted well. The size of the field forced us into some mistakes.”
Raynor continued, “ Our backline and keeper had an outstanding night. They were forced to make a few stops, and Spencer (Scott) had to make 2 huge saves. Keshaun (Davis) had a great night and made some big plays. His vision and execution has gotten tremendously better. Dan (Tatum) played locked down defense tonight and played extremely smart.”
Due to the tight field McGill was moved into the midfield. “He made a huge difference,” said Raynor. “He and Pierce controlled the midfield and seemed to win every ball. Brooks had a heck of a game.”
“Caleb and Greyson played well for us up top,” added Raynor. “Caleb made some tough plays in traffic and had some great scores. Greyson is good at reading the game and was in the right spot numerous times. He had some quality finishes.”
“Jake worked his butt off, got into the attack more and generated more shots for himself,” stated Raynor. “His finished with the right foot was ridiculous. He is our workhorse and one heck of a defender.”
Raynor noted that, “Jay McKoy played some quality minutes with Garrett (Melvin) out sick. His goal on the volley was something else. Jacob Barber and Gabe Barber had great games as well. Gabe brings a lot of energy to the midfield and used that up top tonight. He did a solid job tonight.”
Heustess had an assist to go with his ‘Hat Trick’. McGill tallied 2 goals to go with his 6 assists. Hatchell finished with 2 goals and an assist. Evans and McKoy had a goal each. Hernandez dished out 2 assists, and Evans and Pierce Melvin had one assist each.
East Bladen improved to 5-0 and leads the conference. East Bladen is 10-1 overall.
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