ELIZABETHTOWN – Junior Brooks McGill lit up the scoreboard with 4 goals Monday night as East Bladen opened Four County Conference play with a 5-3 victory over Midway.
The Eagles grabbed an early lead in the fifth minute. Sophmore Pierce Melvin launched a long pass to McGill who knocked the shot inside the back post from only 4 yards away.
Midway pulled even in the tenth minute when a foul was called in the box following a free kick from near midfield. The Raiders converted the penalty kick to tie the game.
In the 30th minute, the Eagles went ahead to stay. “Jacob (Barber) headed a nice ball to Brooks behind the backline,” said East Bladen Coach Jay Raynor. “Brooks then buried a hard ball into the back corner.”
Seven minutes later McGill completed his ‘Hat Trick’ with a third goal that put East Bladen ahead 3-1 at halftime. Sophmore Greyson Heustess chipped a pass over the backline, and McGill drilled in the shot from 9 yards out.
Four minutes into the second half, Heustess threw the ball into freshman Jake Evans who delivered a pass to McGill. McGill penetrated the 18 yardline and racked up his fourth goal from 7 yards out.
“Brooks was on it tonight,” said Coach Raynor. “His pace is unreal. What also helps him is the fact we have 2 other forwards and 2 midfielders who can score and that makes us hard to mark. For a time they man-marked Brooks but that let Jake and Greyson have runs at goal. Those guys work well together and have been very strong for us up top.”
Heustess stretched the lead to 5-1 four minutes later when a corner kick came to him and he blasted in the shot from 24 yards out.
From that point on the Raiders began to turn the tide. “We were put under a tremendous amount of pressure,” said Raynor. “That pressure combined with our attack took our wind from us. We sat back deeper then we should have and that created runs at our goal for them.”
“Even though we were under a ton of pressure, our backline and keeper (Spencer Scott) turned them away for the most part,” continued Coach Raynor. Midway scored after an Eagle save when the ball was played back outside the18, but the Midway player bent a long shot into the net to close the gap to 5-2.
Moments later a penalty kick was awarded on a Midway break-away. Both players went down in the box, but Midway got the call. Junior Jeremy Cifuentes who drew the penalty kick took the shot but Scott dove to his right and smothered it.
“It was a heck of a stop!” exclaimed Coach Raynor. “Spencer was a man back there between the sticks tonight. He and his backline killed it! They put together one of the best performances I have ever seen them put on. Worked together, communicated, and didn’t let #11 (Cifuentes) cut us up.”
Midway’s final goal came in the 69th minute. The Eagles had the play stopped but the defenders slipped on the wet field and knocked the ball into the net. “You hate to give that up but our guys did all they could do and were unlucky,” noted Raynor.
“We are pleased to get the win and open conference play with a win,” said Coach Raynor. “When we were tired they just kept running at us but our guys in the back turned them away. It was a great team effort that was spear-headed by the play in the back of Spencer, Ezequiel (Arteaga), Gabe (Barber) and Keshaun (Davis). That’s a tough group who give you everything they have.”
“Jacob (Barber) also had a really good night,” continued Raynor. “We looked to him in the second half to give Caleb (Hatchell) a longer break and he was up for the challenge. Jacob made several great plays on the ball and busted his butt. He played some big minutes for us and gave us a big performance.”
Raynor added, “I feel like we have the right people in the right places. We just need to figure out how to get some people some rest without falling off and losing our attack. We need to tweak some stuff to keep our legs from coming out from under us during the last 20 minutes of play.”
“We also have to do a better job of finishing teams off,” said Raynor. “We can’t keep teams in the game. We have to finish our chances and make better decisions in the attacking one/third.”
The Eagles improved to 5-1-1 overall and will host conference favorite Clinton Wednesday at 6 p.m.
About Author
