Dark Horses rout Spring Creek in home opener

Clinton’s soccer team finally got their first home game this season last Thursday, when they hosted Spring Creek, and won, 7-0.

The Dark Horses opened the season at 5-0, with all five games being on the road, and an average margain of victory being five goals.

Following international soccer rules, time is kept going up instead of counting down at Dark Horse Soccer Complex, which allows for extra time to be added in case the referees determine that there is any.

Clinton started their attack early, as Seavy Jordan broke away downfield for an open shot on net, but was tripped up by the defense. Just 37 seconds into the match, Griffin Williams lined up for the penalty kick, and he was successful for his first goal of the night, making it 1-0 Clinton.

Spring Creek took the ball into their offensive zone after the goal, and provided some pressure, but it wasn’t enough, as JJ Najera got a shot from the left side about two minutes after Clinton’s first goal. It was blocked, but on the rebound, he was able to get another shot towards the goal, and he hit the back of the net around 2:45 into the game, making it a 2-0 game early in the first half.

Clinton kept up their offensive pressure, which would be the theme of the night for the game. Brandt Sumner made a push early on, but a slide tackle from Spring Creek took this opportunity away. Not all was lost, though, as the Dark Horses went right back to it. A corner kick from Clinton traveled a bit too far from their left side to the right, which squashed another attack about 6:28 into the game, and Spring Creek even got a shot on goal that was ultimately too high around eight minutes in.

Najera was back to business at about 9:12 into the match, with another shot on goal, but this time it was poked away by Spring Creek’s goalkeeper. A chance at a header was given at about the 11-minute mark, by way of a throw in, but the Dark Horses weren’t able to connect.

Sumner had another open look at the goal at 14 minutes into the contest, but he missed wide left. Action was stopped at 17:12 due to an injury timeout, presumably due to cramps as the heat was scorching as the sun was setting.

Spring Creek bounced back with more of an offensive attack as time neared the halfway point in the first half, but could not produce many shots on goal. One they did have, though, came at about 26:30 into the half; it was a shot from nearly midfield that soared high and to the left of the goal, and Clinton didn’t even need to block it.

The Dark Horses flipped the script once again and put on pressure in their offensive zone. David Paz and Seavy Jordan tried to connect on a cross-field one-timer at the 27:15 mark, but Jordan couldn’t connect.

This was no issue, though, as Nelson Guerrero and Jordan both scored goals almost one minute apart shortly after. Guerrero’s came at 28:15 into the game, and Jordan’s was at 29:16. These two goals gave Clinton the 4-0 lead. This was the last goal of the first half.

Luis Bartolome and Garrison Hill split time in goal for Clinton, and Bartolome started the second half between the pipes for the Dark Horses.

Shortly after the 5-minute mark in the second half, Griffin Williams secured his second goal of the game, off an assist by Jordan, making it 5-0 for Clinton.

Clinton showed they were better conditioned than Spring Creek throughout the night, as they kept offensive pressure all game. The teams did battle at midfield for a bit in the second half, but Clinton emerged victorious every time.

Oskar Adasiak got the elusive header goal for the Dark Horses at the 55:42 mark, making it 6-0 in favor of Clinton. Melvin Cruz got in on the action at 64:34, with a long shot that found the back of the net, and making it a 7-0 game. That was the last score of the night, as Clinton held off any further attacks from Spring Creek.

“In my 26 years coaching, I don’t think I’ve had five away games to start the season,” head coach Brad Spell said after the game. “So, this is really the last game for the month of August. I thought we did a good job. Everyone got a lot of playing time tonight and we moved the ball extremely well; really unselfish, which is what we’ve been pushing. You know, ‘share the sugar’.”

“Nobody’s worried about the stats and stuff like that,” he continued. “The biggest stat we want to worry about is getting the ‘W’. These guys are doing a good job; you can tell right now that — knock on wood — we’re hungry and we want to continue it. I’m proud of all of them. Great crowd tonight for the first home game, and hopefully they keep popping up because we’re about to have a lot more home games coming up.”