East Bladen clinched the Three Rivers Conference men’s soccer title Monday night with a 2-0 victory over Red Springs.
Late in the first half senior Brooks McGill sent a corner to junior Greyson Heustess who finished a header into the net. “Greyson did a great job of crashing the goal and putting it in,” said East Bladen Coach Jay Raynor. “Brooks hit an almost perfect ball that allowed Greyson to finish it.”
Sophmore Gabe Barber assisted on a goal by sophmore Jake Evans in the second half. “The pass and the finish were quality,” noted Coach Raynor. “Gabe played a very nice diagonal ball into the seams of their defensive pressure. Jake’s instincts took him into the area and arrived just as the ball did. That was text book on how to beat a soft backline. Get the ball wide to stretch them, find the seams, and play a diagonal ball into those seams.”
“Spencer (Scott) came up big with several huge saves and stops,” continued Raynor. “He was huge for us tonight! He made a diving save on a free kick that could have easily gone in and he came off his line to clear some through balls. If he doesn’t come out on those they score on them. He was up for the task and was very sharp!”
Raynor added, “It was a grind tonight. A lot of credit goes to Red Springs. They had a game plan and it was effective. Teams are countering our speed and our speed of play by layering their defenses and defensive pressure. I thought we dominated play but we were unable to break them down and peel apart their layers.”
“Pierce (Melvin) had a huge night for us,” said Raynor. “He cleaned up a lot of our blunders and turnovers. He played with a lot of passion tonight. He was able to get his shoulders inside their players and force them into pressure.”
“Keshaun (Davis) played one heck of a second half,” said Raynor. “He made some smart plays in the back and was able to start our attack by playing into the frontline.”
The Eagles, now 13-0 in league play and 19-1 overall, will close out regular season play Wednesday at home against rival West Bladen. Gametime is 6 p.m.
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