ELIZABETHTOWN – East Bladen and Wallace-Rose Hill battled to a 2-2 tie Thursday night in non-conference men’s soccer action.
The Bulldogs tapped in a ball that hit off the post and wasn’t cleared for a goal in the 20th minute.
Nine minutes later Eagle senior Brian Monroe blasted in a free kick from 19 yards out to tie the game 1-1.
Nineteen minutes into the second half senior Pierce Melvin turned a corner kick into a goal that put East Bladen ahead 2-1. “Pierce put it on frame and drove it past the keeper taking a deflection from a defender on the way in,” said Eagle Coach Jay Raynor.
Wallace tied the game in the final ten minutes. “Their forward went 1-on-1 with our keeper, and Jacob (Priest) did all he could do,” said Raynor. “It was a well-hit shot, low and into the corner.” Priest finished with 5 saves in the game.
“I was pleased with our play,” continued Raynor. “Wallace is a powerhouse and routinely battles for conference titles and makes deep play-off runs. I though our guys gave them all they wanted. It was a well-played match and could have gone either way.”
Raynor noted that the Eagles had some looks and opportunities that they needed to do better with. “I saw a lot of heart and toughness on the pitch tonight, and we generated 2 goals on 2 set pieces – that’s good stuff.”
“Wallace played very well in the back and were well organized,” concluded Raynor. “They gave us trouble breaking them down, but we still generated looks. Collectively we played very well as a team.”
The Eagles are now 3-0-1 on the season and will travel to South Brunswick Monday night.
Wallace-Rose Hill won the jayvee match by a 1-0 score.
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