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ELIZABETHTOWN – Junior Chace Butler earned a penalty kick that senior Jamie Delgado converted into the deciding goal that lifted No. 16 East Bladen to a 2-1 victory over No. 17 Triangle Math & Science Monday night in the opening round of the NCHSAA Class 1A boys soccer playoffs.

The Eagles improved to 14-6 and advance to a rematch Thursday at 6 p.m. at No. 1 Eastern seed Hobbton (19-3-1). Admission will be $7 at the gate cash only.

The Wildcats defeated Neuse Charter 6-2 in their playoff opener. Hobbton defeated East Bladen 2-0 on Sept. 28.

“The guys finally took advantage of Triangle’s high line,” said East Coach Jay Raynor. “Chace drove 50+ yards into the box, cut up the endline, beat a defender then was taken out just before taking a shot. Jamie converted it to the keeper’s right into the side net. It was well-placed.” The go-ahead goal came with 15 minutes left to play.

Raynor continued, “The speed of Chace and Tevin (McClean) is something that gives teams issues. That was the 7th PK that Chace has won for us. He has improved his footwork as well as learned how to use a change of speed to cause defenders issues.”

East Bladen dominated the opening half outshooting TMS 12-1 and earning 7 corner kicks and several free kicks. “We controlled the first half but couldn’t put the ball into the net,” noted Raynor. “We had too many set pieces not to have come away with more scoring chances from them.”

The Eagles cracked the scoring column 12:49 before halftime. “We earned a deep throw,” described Raynor. “Zac (Metz) threw a deep ball that Jamie flicked to Tevin who finished one time. It was a great throw and execution by the guys.

The score remained 1-0 through the remainder of the half. “We had plenty of chances but couldn’t seem to put the ball in the net,” said Raynor. “We made their keeper make a few great saves.”

The visiting Tigers tied the game 1-1 in the 54th minute. “We committed a foul inside 50 yards, and we didn’t clear a ball that was sent into the box,” stated Raynor. “The guys stopped as it looked to be a hand ball on TMS and their striker buried a great shot into the top right corner of the goal.”

Raynor added, “Zac and our backs played well for us. They made the plays when they had to. Ronnie (Covington) was a difference maker in the match. When he is on the bench, we aren’t the same in midfield. JD (McArthur), Gabriel (Algozy), and Damian (Alonzo-Sanchez) contributed a lot for us in midfield. Marco (Ventura) was a spark and made some big plays and runs for us tonight.

“Both our keepers (Lee Barnes and Fernando Rebollar) were great for us tonight,” said Raynor. “Solid performance for us, but we have to clean some things up. We have improved since the 1st Hobbton game. We learned a lot about ourselves in that game.”