Sophomore Brooks McGill and freshman Greyson Heustess scored two goals each to lead East Bladen to a 4-0 non-conference victory over visiting St. Pauls Thursday night.
After a scoreless first 15 minutes the game was delayed by more than 45 minutes due to lightning. “The delay was a blessing because we were not playing the way we should have been playing,” said Eagle Coach Jay Raynor.
The chance to regroup really helped as six minutes after play resumed McGill captured a loose ball near the 18-yardline, worked past several defenders and fired a shot past the goalkeeper for a 1-0 lead.
The score remained 1-0 at halftime, but early in the second half, Heustess pounced on the rebound of a blocked McGill shot and banged it into the net.
“Greyson was in the right spot and followed Brooks’ shot,” noted Raynor. “He is good at that. He anticipates where the shot or cross is going and is almost always in the right place at the right time.”
Ten minutes later Heustess rose up and headed a pass from sophomore Kevin Nunez into the back of the net.
“We love to pressure you and keep the ball in our opponents half of the field,” stated Coach Raynor. “We did a much better job doing that in second half which led to more opportunities which ultimately led to more goals.”
McGill looped a shot over the goalie’s head with about twenty minutes left that stretched the East Bladen lead to 4-0.
“It was a very nice shot. Very skillful and hit with the outside of the foot,” said Raynor. “Brooks is a player and noticed the keeper off his line. He dropped that shot just in over his head from 20 yards out.”
The Eagles cleared the bench from that point on.
“Getting a shutout is huge and a stat we constantly want to have. I thought we did a great job defensively and Spencer (Scott) was only forced to make 3 saves on the night. The entire backline did well but the communication between Spencer and Caleb Hatchell was the key to our success tonight.” said Raynor.
Raynor also praised the defensive work of senior Alex Felder and freshman Keshaun Davis and noted that “Grey Cabellero, Jacob Barber, and Logan Baxley really controlled the midfield, and Kevin Nunez played well and seemed to dominate the left side of the field.”
East Bladen out shot the Bulldogs 18-3 and converted 2 of 7 corner kicks.
The Eagle’s improve to 2-0 on the season and are on the road next week as they travel to North Brunswick on Tuesday and then travel to New Hanover on Wednesday.
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