Men’s Soccer Clinton 3, East Bladen 0

Raynor noted that a year ago the Eagles were down 1-0 at halftime when they rallied to upset the Dark Horses when they were the No. 1 team in the state. “This time the tables were turned,” he said. “We were the higher ranked team (#2 as of Tuesday) and they were in the ‘underdog’ role. Tonight they took it to us and we weren’t able to overcome our mistakes.”

Clinton scored on a corner kick in the 63rd minute to go up 2-0. “We did a decent job of clearing the first ball out of the goal mouth but didn’t track the second ball,” said Raynor. Clinton scored their final goal in the 75th minute off of set piece following a free kick. 

Raynor also noted that Clinton’s depth played a role as they continually subbed 3 players every 5-10 minutes. “Our fitness is not where it should be,” he continued. “No excuses though, they took it to us and wanted it. We got beat by a solid team.” 

“(Goalie) Spencer Scott was unbelievable tonight,” said Raynor. “He made play after play to bail us out. They could have had 7 goals but he made some outstanding saves. Jake Evans had a great night. He gets the most touches for us in games and makes a ton of defensive stops. His work ethic and understanding of the game is second to none.”

“Our midfield made some plays and did their best to orchestrate our attack,” said Coach Raynor. “Greyson (Heustess) and Gabe (Barber) worked hard and did all they could. Pierce (Melvin) won some balls and helped us get on the attack quickly. Our forwards weren’t making the runs they have been making. The movement wasn’t there and caused us to take too much time and touches resulting in misplayed balls or turnovers.” 

“At times, especially in the first 20 minutes, our frontline looked good,” added Raynor. “We were checking in and out, moving off the ball, all of which was generating us looks. Garrett (Melvin) had a few nice runs. Brooks (McGill) had some good looks as well as Caleb (Hatchell) and Greyson when they were up there in the first half. Went away from that in the second half and seemed to settle for long shots versus slotting the ball in behind the backline.” 

Raynor concluded, “All the things are fixable and we will get them right. I saw some upset kids last night as we talked after the game. I’m going to own it as a coach and make sure I do a better job coaching this time. This one’s on me.”