|
W. Henderson tops SM in battle for league lead
West Henderson moved into sole possession of first place in the Western Athletic Conference soccer standings with a 2-0 win over Smoky Mountain, the state’s fifth-ranked 2-A team, on Oct. 1 at Carr Hooper Stadium/Babe Howell Field.
“We played a heck of a second half, but we just couldn’t finish,” Coach Dolphus Brown said. “I take full responsibility, but in the first half we didn’t play well.”
The Mustangs fell to 13-2 overall and 3-1 in the WAC as a seven-game winning streak ended.
“We’re hurt, but we’re not down,” the coach said. “That’s round one, and we’ve got round two in front of us.”
The Falcons stunned SM with an own goal off a Mustang defender at the 4:47 mark.
Smoky Mountain’s Richard Ramirez has control of the ball in last week’s game with West Henderson. West defeated the Mustangs 2-0 to take over first place in the Western Athletic Conference. – Herald photo by Carey Phillips
“It put us down in the count,” Brown said. “I never thought they would shut us out. I wasn’t worried about that one goal.”
The Falcons went up 2-0 on Jacob Martin’s goal late in the half.
“He just pushed it past the keeper from about 7 or 8 yards,” Brown said of the goal that came at the 38:21 mark.
The Mustangs had -chances but weren’t able to cash in as they held a 16-7 advantage in shots. SM’s Max Macedo made three saves, and West’s Corey Obermiller had six.
The Mustang JVs improved to 3-4-1 with a 4-1 win.
Germaih Fuentes scored two goals with assists by Lucas Christopher and Cameron Taylor. Other goals were by Blake Masson and Strat Douglas.
“They played a lot better offensively,” Coach John Douthit said. “They were finishing and putting the ball in the back of the net.”
He noted that goalkeeper Matthew Leonard made several key saves.
The JVs have added two games to their schedule to make up for two league teams not having JV squads.
They were slated to play the Swain varsity at home Wednesday, Oct. 8, while the Mustang varsity goes to Brevard. The JVs will face the Polk JVs at East Henderson prior to Monday’s varsity game at East.
|
