ELIZABETHTOWN – Elizabethtown outscored Tar Heel 4-1 in the penalty kick shootout to claim a Waccamaw Middle School Conference victory Tuesday after the two teams battled to a 2-2 tie in regulation play.
Malcolm Bolden slammed in his penalty kick to start the shootout, and Tar Heel missed. Jamie Delgado knocked in his penalty kick, and Kevyn Labra answered with a penalty kick that kept the Panthers within 2-1.
Eric Hidalgo drilled in his penalty kick for a 3-1 shootout lead, and the Panthers missed. Fernando Rebollar sealed the victory by blasting his penalty kick into the net.
The Panthers scored their two goals in the first ten minutes of regulation play. Alex Garza banged in a header for the first goal. Later in the half the Cougars were called for a foul, and William Verdugo Gomez fired in the penalty kick for a 2-0 Tar Heel lead.
Bolden dribbled past several defenders before sending in the goal that trimmed the Panther lead to 2-1.
“Tar Heel owned the first 12-13 minutes,” said Cougar Coach Jay Raynor. “They have good size up top as well as through the midfield, and their skills all over the field caused us problems.”
Raynor continued, “As the game went on I thought we played harder. Once we got adjusted to their play as well as their physicality we were a different time. I thought we had the better chances in the last 7 minutes.”
Bolden hammered in the tying goal with 9 minutes left to play. “He is a playmaker and made some plays,” said Coach Raynor. “Zac Metz and Jacob Nixon in the midfield allowed Malcolm to make those long runs. “
Delgado and Bailey Williams both had close range shots turned away in the last 2 minutes. “Their defenders and keeper did a great job of turning those shots away,” said Raynor.
Raynor continued, “Nathan Howell and Kewone Maynor were huge for us tonight. Evan Pait and Jacob Nixon made huge plays in the midfield. Jacob didn’t seem to be rattled by their pressure, and Evan adjusted to their speed and was much more physical in the second half.”
“Chace Butler and Zac in the midfield were constantly all over the field making plays,” said Raynor. “Jamie had a solid night, and Malcolm was unbelievable – he had a heck of a game making plays – the guys play off him.”
Raynor concluded, “ I thought Eric Hidalgo had a wonderful game. He went from being upset with his nose bleeding (in the first half) to making huge plays and making a penalty kick in the shootout with the game on the line.”
It was the first loss of the season for Coach Ray Schmucker’s Panther who had already clinched their division with a win last week. Tar Heel finished with a 6-1 record.
The Cougars improved to 5-1 on the season and will close out their season against Whiteville Central at County Park Wednesday at 4 p.m.
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