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Photo by Chris Readman. Junior Lucas Trantham scores the final goal on the Hayesville Goalkeeper.
The Maroon Devils Boys Soccer Team hosted the Blue Ridge Bobcats on Tuesday. With a strong second half, the Devils secured a 4-1 win, bringing the team to a 7-1 record in conference and 7-2 overall.
The first half was a tight battle between the two teams. Blue Ridge would get on the scoreboard first when Swain would have an own goal off of a Bobcat throw in. With 6 minutes left in the first half Sophomore Landon Matz would find Senior Zachary Cline with a through pass for a goal. The first half would finish with the teams tied 1-1.
In the second half, the Devils would add another goal five minutes into the half when Matz would find Matthew Gray for a goal. Sixteen minutes into the second half Gavin Rowland would find Gray for his second goal of the game. With 12 minutes left, Gray would find Cline for his second goal. The game would finish with the Devils taking the 4-1 win.
“We had a rocky start in the first half, but the second half we came back strong,” said Head Coach Scott Cline. “We started really clicking in the second half and making connections with our passing.”
On defense, Booth Bassett led the way with 11 clears/steals. He was followed by Levi Trantham with 5 and Lucas Trantham with 4. In goal, Noel Wolf had 2 saves.
The Player of the Game for the Devils was Zachary Cline.
“Zach was man marked the entire game and he overcame that and was still able to score two goals,” said Coach Cline. “Overall, he played a great game.”
The win followed a challenging loss against Murphy in a rescheduled game held Saturday. The two teams played a hard fought game all the way to the end on some very wet field conditions.
The first half would see neither team score a goal. Two minutes into the second half, Chase Burrell would connect with Sophomore Landon Matz for a goal. Ten minutes later the Bulldogs would convert a corner kick into a goal. With 16 minutes left in the game, Murphy would score another goal off a corner kick. Murphy would give the Devils their first conference loss of the season.
Last Thursday, the Devils traveled to Hayesville for a rescheduled game, with Chase Burrell passing to Landon Matz for a pair of early goals. A third came from a pass form Lucas Trantham. The points piled up, and the Devils entered the second half 7-0.
With 9 minutes left in the second half, the Devils would complete the 9-0 mercy rule when Matz would score his fourth goal of the game. “The team played great. It gave us an opportunity to get the ball moved around and some goals for our seniors,” said Cline.
The Devils will travel to Highlands on Saturday at 11 a.m. in a very important game with the Highlanders. On Monday at 4 p.m., the Devils will host the Cherokee Braves for Senior Night. Currently, the Devils are one game ahead of both Highlands and Murphy in the conference standings.