ROCKY POINT – Senior Jamie Delgado and sophomore Tevin McClean scored 2nd half goals Wednesday night that lifted East Bladen to a 2-0 boys’ soccer victory over Heide Trask that clinched 2nd place for the Eagles in the Waccamaw Conference.
Junior Gabril Algozy delivered an assist to Delgado who banged in the 1st Eagle goal. Delgado and Algozy both tallied assists on McClean’s goal that pushed the lead to 2-0.
“The guys played an outstanding second half,” said Raynor. “The first half was dominating but we weren’t working together as one until when we were pressing. The second was a different story. I felt that we dominated both halves but the pressing, work ethic, and staying true to the system was spot on in the second half.
East Bladen outshot the Titans 11-1 in the 1st half and 22-5 for the game.
“Gabriel had a career game last night,” stated Raynor. “His work rate and decision making was the best I have seen from him. He was the player we needed last night directing our attack and helping our holding mids win the midfield.”
In the 58th minute East Bladen earned a free kick 40 yards from goal. “Gabriel served a great ball into the 18 and Jamie was able to get on the end of it,” described Raynor. “Jamie did what he has been doing this last part of the season, found a way to get on the ball and put it in the net.”
Raynor continued, “That first goal was important for many reasons. We had missed several close chances and had their goalkeeper make impressive diving saves to keep us out of the net. The goal was going to come and when it did it gave us even more energy to continue to press and work.”
“Ronnie (Covington) and JD (McArthur) dominated their space and won us the game in midfield. They stopped every dangerous attack and won a majority of the 50/50 balls in their area. Those two in midfield are hard to play against. Ronnie’s size causes issues and JD’s work rate and ability to get under players to make tackles frustrates teams. Combine those guys with Gabriel working back to help them from behind, allowed us to win balls and instantly start our attack.”
Raynor added, “Jamie, Tevin, and Chace (Butler) were brilliant tonight. I give those guys freedom to go find the game. I trust them. They are going to make something happen and it’s usually only a matter of time before they do. They picked up their play and helped us get a result.”
“Chace is playing the best soccer I have seen him play,” stated Raynor. “His one on one ability and his change of speed is hard to deal with. He had several shots just miss and forced the keeper to make difficult saves.”
“Our backs did a phenomenal job,” said Raynor. “Colin’s (King) work rate and ability to make plays when we needed them limited their looks at goal. Jayce (Hatcher) held down their extremely talented forward and limited his touches on the ball. Debo (Lewis) was right there to clean up long balls or if their forward got in behind Jayce. Our backs all work well together but I would say Jayce and Debo are the core that keeps our backs organized and locked in.”
Raynor noted, “Zac (Metz) also had a career game last night. Not only was he a factor in the defensive third but he was a factor in all portions of the field. With our pressing, Zac was able to jump some passes and really join our attack. Zac helped us keep the game on their end of the field.”
Fernando Rebollar and Lee Barnes combined for the shutout in goal for the Eagles. “We walked away with a shutout and didn’t force them to make many difficult saves. Lee was big for us in the first half and Fernando was the same in the second half. Once we got the first goal, Trask started pushing a little higher and had a few great looks at goal. One was called for offsides and one Fernando made a great play on.”
“Our guys off the bench were great,” concluded Raynor. “They did what was asked of them and almost put a third goal away. Connor (Paddrick) was on it! That guy always puts himself in a position to score. Marco (Ventura) and Andrew (Musselwhite) played big minutes for us as well. They made plays when it was asked of them.”
Coach Jay Raynor’s Eagles completed regular season play with a 10-2 Waccamaw record and a 13-6 overall mark. They will now wait for the NCHSAA Class 1A playoff brackets to be released Friday.
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