LAKE WACCAMAW – Junior Brooks McGill posted a ‘Hat Trick’ of 3 goals and senior Grey Caballero dished out 4 assists to lead East Bladen to a 7-2 non-conference men’s soccer victory Tuesday.
After a slow start, the Eagles scored midway the first half. Sophmore Dan Tatum sent a throw-in to Caballero who fired a cross into the 18-yard box that McGill knocked into the goal from 8 yards out.
Freshman Jake Evans took a pass from Caballero, cut back and found the back of the net from 12 yards out for the second Eagle goal.
“Both our first half goals were generated from very good soccer,” said East Bladen Coach Jay Raynor. “About 25 minutes of the first half we did not play good soccer. We started out flat and turned the ball over in bad areas. We were very fortunate to have the lead at the half.”
The Gators scored first in the second half. “We made a poor decision in the back, and we paid for it,” stated Raynor. “We passed to our centerback and East Columbus jumped it and went one-on-one with (goalie) Spencer (Scott).”
The Eagles answered quickly to take a 3-1 lead. Sophmore Greyson Heustess dished a cross to McGill who converted it into his second goal from 8 yards out.
Moments later East Bladen scored again. “Grey worked a very nice combination play that linked Brooks and put Greyson on the tail end and resulted in him scoring from 19 yards out,” said Raynor.
East Columbus trimmed the lead to 4-2 on a header off of a corner kick. “Our positioning and marking let us down,” noted Coach Raynor. “We were soft on a set piece, and we need to work on our marking on set pieces more in training.”
The Eagles responded with a 3-goal blitz in the final ten minutes. “We turned it up big time,” said Raynor. “We were able to score 3 goals from 3 different players.”
Caballero converted a pass from junior Caleb Hatchell into the fifth Eagle goal. McGill completed his ‘Hat Trick” with a shot from 10 yards out, and sophmore Pierce Melvin blasted in a shot from 21 yards out that ‘scorched the back of the net’ according to Coach Raynor.
“We played phenomenal soccer the last 10 minutes,” said Raynor. “The way the ball moved, the movement off the ball, and the communication were really good soccer. That type of play also allowed us to get some younger players in the game for some minutes.”
“It’s always fun when you win and it’s fun scoring goals,” added Coach Raynor. “However, we have to figure out what it’s going to take to play a full game. At one point I thought the momentum had shifted, and when that happens it’s hard to get it back. This group is capable of getting it back and that’s exactly what they did.”
“We have to stop using our athleticism to bail us out,” stated Raynor. “This is the first time where we have had more soccer players then athletes. These kids know the game and know how it’s supposed to be played and how we want to play it. We just lose track of that mindset and mentality and do silly things.”
Caballero moved into the midfield after Jacob Barber was injured and had to sit out the last 20-25 minutes. “Grey had a great game tonight, held down the midfield and finished with a goal and 4 assists,” noted Raynor.
McGill recorded the hat trick and added 2 assists. “Brooks also had a solid night. He’s a pure scorer and once he realized that he could beat them and get behind them he did just that.”
Hatchell was credited with 2 assists. Heustess and Melvin both had a goal and an assist, and Evans scored one goal.
“We did a much better job finishing our chances when we got into the attacking 1/3,” concluded Coach Raynor. “At times we looked shaky all over the field especially in the back but got better as the game went on. It was great to end on a high note and hopefully we will take that into Thursday.”
The Eagles, now 2-0, will host South Columbus Thursday at 5 p.m.
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