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West Henderson holds off rally by Smoky Mountain
West Henderson held off a late Smoky Mountain rally to take a 3-2 Western Athletic Conference soccer victory on Oct. 5 at West.
The Mustangs (1-3, 9-5-1) scored twice in the final 10 minutes and had an opportunity to tie the game in the closing seconds.
“It was a heart-breaking loss,” Coach Dolphus Brown said. “We had a lot of opportunities.”
SM trailed 3-0 until Grant Schallock scored off a J.R. Collins throw-in at the 69:58 mark.
Smoky Mountain’s Grant Schallock controls the ball in last week’s 3-2 loss at West Henderson. – Herald photo by Carey Phillips
“The throw came from the right side,” Brown said. “Grant was open, and he knocked it in.”
Coleman Corzine’s goal from 25 yards out narrowed the gap to 3-2 at 75:56.
“That was an absolute rip to the near post,” the coach said.
“It was a tremendous effort the final 10 minutes,” he added.
The Falcons led 1-0 at halftime on Mitch Justus’ goal with an assist from Chris Ellis at the 9:51 mark.
“We just got beat, and he turned and shot it from 12 yards out,” Brown said.
West went up 2-0 when Mike Aubrey scored with an assist from Justus at the 48:38 mark.
“Justus timed it real nice and released the ball,” Brown said. “Aubrey collected it and dribbled it a time or two before shooting.”
The margin reached 3-0 at the 67:15 mark when Justus connected for the second time with Aubrey giving the assist.
“It was a ball played through to Justus,” Brown said. “The ball was played from the right side toward the middle, and he was wide open from 13 yards out.”
Despite the loss, the Mustangs held a 19-12 advantage in shots. SM’s Sterling Brady recorded six saves, and Thomas Hernandez had eight for West.
The SM JVs are 6-2-1 after a 1-0 win on a goal by Cort Smith in the first half. The play started with Noah Gallinger’s free kick.
“We played strong defense, and the players were able to hold the lead,” Coach Stephan Delor said.
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