The Dark Horse men’s soccer team came away with yet another win, keeping their undefeated streak going. Facing off with Richlands at home, Clinton completely dictated the pace of the game, serving up a 4-0 shutout to push their win streak to four to open the season.
This was a game of absolute control by the Dark Horses, their ball movement was exceptional and Richlands just couldn’t keep up with the home team. Though the game was a lopsided win in favor of the Horses, the final score could’ve been much worse. Fortunately for Richlands, the Horses didn’t capitalize on a few of the chances.
Not only did CHS command the games pacing with its ball movement but their shot attempts on goal were bountiful. They managed an impressive 15 shots on goal, but were able to put just four in the net, something CHS head coach Brad Spell pointed out after the game.
“I thought we moved the ball extremely well tonight,” Spell said. “We were able to get everyone a lot of good playing time also. One thing we didn’t do, though, was capitalize on some of our chances. We had a few missed opportunities that could’ve put us up by three or four goals in the first half and those are things we still need to work on.”
An equally highly number, though not a good one, was their fouls. There’s no doubt the Horses were the more physical and aggressive team the entire night — sometimes too physical or the refs were too friendly with the whistle, blown against the Horses 10 times on the night.
In the first half, it was anybody’s game. Clinton drew first blood in the waning minutes of the half, Parker Norris scoring the lone goal for the 1-0 advantage at the break.
Spell said the goal helped out his team, setting the tempo for the second half.
“We let them keep breathing and hang around in the first half, but that goal we scored right before the break helped us out,” Spell said. “I think it really knocked the wind out of them and we were able to build on that and jump all over them in the second half.”
Clinton’s other three goals came from Jared Aguilar, Manuel Murrillo and a second one from Norris. Jared Stephenson had both the assists in the game. The Horses amassed six corners as well.
With Richlands mopped up, the Horses go to 4-0 on the season and are on the road Friday against Durham School of the Arts.
Also of note is the young Horses of the JV, which tallied wins on the same day, with the soccer and football teams both coming away with convincing victories. The JV soccer team pushed to 3-0 on the season after taking down county rivals Hobbton by a score of 3-0. Meanwhile, the football team bounced back from last week’s loss and claimed their first win against East Bladen, 28-6, to improve to 1-1.
