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Smoky Mountain slips past Tuscola
Joey Cox scored a pair of goals in the second half as Smoky Mountain edged Tuscola 2-1 in a non-conference soccer game on Sept. 6 at Carr Hooper Stadium/Babe Howell Field.
“I was very excited about the win,” Coach Dolphus Brown said. “Tuscola really has a good team. The scouting report said they were big, fast and aggressive, and they’re all that. We really played well. It was delightful to get behind against a solid defensive team and come back for the win.”
After being held scoreless through three quarters of the contest, the Mustangs pulled into a 1-1 tie when Cox scored in the 60th minute with assists from Grant Schallock and Richard Ramirez.
“The ball was played from Grant out of the midfield to Richard,” Brown said. “He collected the ball and sent a beautiful pass just inside the box. Joey was toward the far post and took a shot from 12 yards.”
Cox scored the winning goal on a direct kick from the far right side just outside the box with about six minutes left.
“The keeper got a hand on it, but he couldn’t get there in time,” Brown said.
The Mountaineers struck first as Richard Malloy scored from about 12 yards out some 15 minutes into the contest.
“The ball had been played to Malloy from the right side,” Brown said. “He was unmarked when he received it. After he dribbled a time or two, we got somebody there, but we stabbed at it.
Both teams got off 12 shots. SM’s Cody Bryson made eight saves, and Tuscola’s Karl Adams had seven.
“It was played between the 18s,” the coach said of the few scoring opportunities. “Neither team could connect on many passes.”
Tuscola won the JV game 4-2 dropping the Mustangs to 0-3-1. The Mounties were up 3-0 at intermission.
Greg Gibson and Rodrigo Nogal scored SM’s goals.
“We played two different games in the first half and second half,” Coach Chris Tyson said. “We didn’t pick up where we left off from the previous game when we came out for the first half. They settled down and did a lot better in the second half.”
Nogal was singled out for his play.
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