Clinton hosted Trask for a Four County Conference soccer match on Wednesday evening. The teams got an early start hoping to get the match finished ahead of approaching weather, and the plan almost worked. The game was called in the 60th minute when lightning moved a little too close to comfort. After a short conference, the officials and coaches decided to call the game, giving Clinton a 6-0 weather-shortened win.

The Dark Horses opened the game playing an up-tempo attacking style that resulted in an early goal, when Parker Norris fired in the first score at the 3:03 mark, sending a laser shot from 15-yards in front of the goal to put the Dark Horses on top 1-0. The Dark Horses continued to aggressively attack but were unable to score again until the 25 minute when Ivan Palencia sent a ball through heavy traffic, catching the goal keeper off balance and gave Clinton a 2-0 edge.

Clinton got several more good looks and would net two more goals before the halftime break, one by Ivan Ponce at the 38:13 mark and another by Garrett Sanderson off a rebound at 39:58. The Dark Horses took their 4-0 lead to the break and seemed to be in complete control of the contest.

Clinton picked up right where they left off in the first half when Luke Byrd fired a shot between two defenders from about 20-yards out to give the Dark Horses a 5-0 lead. Logan Spell finished off the Dark Horse scoring at the 50:44 mark, giving Clinton their final margin of victory of 6-0.

The Titans got a couple of shots on goal early in the second half but for the most part Clinton continued to control the game, keeping the ball in the offensive end of the field for most of the night. After the game Clinton head coach Brad Spell, spoke to the more aggressive offensive play.

“We really worked on getting numbers in our attack this week in practice,” Spell said. “We wanted to make sure our offensive-mid and even our defensive-mid pushed forward and got into the attack. We did that tonight and it showed.”

Spell continued by praising his team’s effort and execution.

“I thought we played pretty well tonight. We moved the ball well and really did a good job executing our game plan,” the coach said. “This is another good win for us and puts us in position to go to Wallace-Rose Hill on Monday and compete for the top spot in the conference.”

The win improves Clinton’s record to 11-1-1 overall and 6-0 in conference play. Next up for the Dark Horses is a road game at Wallace-Rose Hill that will more than likely determine the Four County Conference front-runner. The Bulldogs should also come in at 6-0 in conference play after their game with Pender on Wednesday night.

The Clinton JV also picked up another win with their 5-0 shutout of the JV Titans. Goal scorers for the Dark Horses were Sammy Sutter (1), Manuel Murrillo (2), Obed Gallegos (1), and Ashton Tyndall (1). Jared Stephenson had two assists and Owen Herring assisted on one goal.

JV head coach Mitchell Brewington praised his team saying, “we were glad to be back home tonight after playing at Harrells on Monday. We didn’t know what to expect from Trask but they had a good team. Our guys moved the ball well and did a good job sharing the ball. We really took advantage of our opportunities and I am really pleased with the way the boys played today.”

The win improves the Dark Horse JV to 12-0 with a big match coming against Wallace-Rose Hill on Monday in Wallace.

Luke Byrd navigates his way through traffic on his way to taking a shot on goal during the first half against Trask.
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_Luke-Bryd-CHS.jpgLuke Byrd navigates his way through traffic on his way to taking a shot on goal during the first half against Trask.

Parker Norris controls the ball along the wing and prepares to drive it towards the Trask goal. Norris scored the first Clinton goal in the Dark Horses’ 6-0 win over the Titans.
https://www.clintonnc.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_Parker-Norris-CHS.jpgParker Norris controls the ball along the wing and prepares to drive it towards the Trask goal. Norris scored the first Clinton goal in the Dark Horses’ 6-0 win over the Titans.
Marquee matchup set for Monday

By Mike Carter

Sports Writer