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ELIZABETHTOWN – East Bladen withstood a Heide Trask rally in the closing minutes and posted a 3-2 Four County Conference men’s soccer victory Wednesday night.

The Eagles jumped in front with a goal in the tenth minute. Junior Brooks McGill took a pass from sophmore Pierce Melvin, beat the Titan backline and smacked the shot past the keeper for a 1-0 lead.

“We controlled the game and had numerous runs at goal – more than they did,” said East Bladen Coach Jay Raynor. “We couldn’t seem to make any of them count though. Several good looks we put over the bar or just wide.”

Eagle goalie Spencer Scott made a diving save later in the half, but couldn’t control the ball and it came out. Trask knocked in the rebound from 8 yards out.

“Following their goal we picked the pressure back up and made a lot of runs at their backline,” said Raynor. “They had an issue with our pace up top that resulted in a lot of grabbing that earned us a penalty kick.”

Senior Grey Cabellero blasted the penalty kick into the right corner of the goal for a 2-1 Eagle lead at halftime.

The Eagles came out strong in the second half and earned a corner kick in the 50th minute. Cabellero put the ball in the 6-yard box, and Melvin drove home the header. “It was a very nice set piece and finish,” said Raynor.

Raynor felt that with the 3-1 lead the Eagles put it on cruise control. “We were on our heels for what seemed to be the last 20 minutes. I think it was a combination of being in control of the game but also our legs just were gone.”

“Trask gave us a run for it for the last little bit,” continued Coach Raynor. “We weren’t winning the midfield or the balls we previously had.”

The Titan pressure resulted in a penalty kick, but Scott dove and smothered the ball. It was a big time save!,” said Raynor.

Scott turned away several more Titan shots and finished the night with 9 saves. Coach Raynor also credited the play of sophmores Dan Tatum, Ezequiel Arteaga and Keshaun Davis with picking up some trouble balls and clearing them out from in front of Scott.

Trask scored in the final 5 minutes to close the gap to 3-2. The goal came on another rebound on a tipped shot that hit the crossbar.

“It got crazy for the last little bit but we walked away with the result,” said Raynor. “The boys showed a lot of heart and spirit. I know they were exhausted from the Pender game, but they played and gave it all they had. You could literally see us hit a wall in the last 15 minutes. We held on though and got the job done.”

“Pierce and Grey had great games tonight,” added Coach Raynor. “They both had their fair share of steals and wins in the midfield. I will also praise the backline and our keeper. It’s not the prettiest at times but they give it all they have.”

“I was proud of the boys,” concluded Coach Raynor. “They played some the gutsiest soccer that any of my teams have played consecutively in awhile. That was 180 minutes of soccer in less then 24 hours with 2 results. I’ll take it!”

The Eagles improved to 3-1 in the Four County and 7-2-1 overall. East Bladen will travel to Wallace-Rose Hill Monday for a 6 p.m. game.