Clinton falls to reigning state champs

After defeating Midway at home Wednesday, the Dark Horse soccer team was back at their complex Thursday to take on reigning state champions Franklin Academy. Back-to-back games didn’t pan out the way Clinton expected, as the visiting Patriots took the game from the home team, 3-1.

The Patriots took possession on the opening kickoff as they looked to make their way to the Dark Horses’ goal. Coach Brad Spell could be heard telling his players “play feet!” early, meaning he wanted them to focus on passing the ball on the ground instead of through the air.

This resulted in an increase in pressure from Clinton, which landed them a corner kick just 2:56 into the game. The Franklin goalie was there for the stop.

The Patriots moved further into Dark Horse territory four-and-a-half minutes into the match, but a smothering Clinton defense thwarted any attack opportunity Franklin had.

Back-to-back Dark Horse corner kicks resulted in no scoring opportunities for the Clinton offensive attack, but the pressure continued.

A shot from the deep left side 8:12 into the game from Clinton looked to be on target for the back right post of the goal, but it skewed right and missed the goal entirely. After a fight for possession, Cullen Brewer made a slide tackle save as it neared 12 minutes, stopping an approach from a nearly-wide-open Patriot. The blanketing defense from both squads was shown in full force, as the teams battled to gain true possession of the game.

A shot on goal from Franklin was swallowed by Luis Bartolome at the 13:28 mark, as a long shot trickled towards the front-right goalpost and the Clinton goaltender was there to make the stop.

Franklin had an increase in offensive pressure, but Griffin Williams took the ball away and scooted down the field just before the halfway point of the opening half. This resulted in the ball being kicked out of bounds and another Clinton corner kick. James Sinclair tried a header on goal from the kick, but it sailed high and right.

A penalty kick from Franklin sent another towards the right side of Clinton’s net, but Bartolome was there once more just shy of 26 minutes into the contest, as the two teams continued to struggle in the tug-of-war.

A shot from the Patriots was sent towards the goal at 34:34, but Bartolome was there once more. It didn’t take long for Franklin to make work of the rebound though, as they found the back of the net at 35:21 on a kick that slipped past Bartolome into the back-left portion of the net. This made it a 1-0 Franklin lead with just under five minutes to go in the opening half.

Clinton attempted to strike back with 2:15 to go, but the Patriot goalie was there to make the stop in front of the net.

At the half, the Patriots led 1-0, with three shots on goal and two corner kicks. Clinton had six corner kicks and one shot on goal.

“Play our game, play feet, don’t go over the top,” Spell told his team as they moved back to the sideline to resume action after the break. “Body language, body language, body language!” he continued.

JJ Najera sent one towards the net just three minutes into the second half, but he was denied, as the Dark Horses upped their pressure from the first half.

The Dark Horses and Patriots exchanged shot attempts near the 47-minute mark. Off the rebound from the Patriots’ attempt, Clinton moved the ball downfield and a throw-in nearly led to a header goal for the Horses.

Clinton put more pressure on the Patriot defense, looking to get open shots just over 10 minutes into the closing half. Still, though, the opposing defense held strong, and the game remained 1-0.

David Paz suffered an apparent lower leg injury at the 53:59 mark, and action was paused as he exited the field.

Just a few minutes later, at 55:25, Franklin Academy struck once more, giving them the 2-0 advantage over the hosting Dark Horse.

Bartolome made a fingertip save at 57:50, though, preventing the Patriots’ lead from getting even bigger.

Brandt Sumner had a PK that was forced out just north of 60 minutes in the match, and Melvin Cruz tried to get the rebound from the left side of the net to a teammate, but couldn’t connect with him on the centering pass.

Holden Spell got down the field on a breakaway at the 65:30 mark, but a Patriot defender tripped him up en route to a shot attempt. Griffin Williams took the ensuing PK in front of the net, and he was successful on a kick the found the back-left pole at 65:54, making it a 2-1 game in Franklin’s favor.

Paz tried to tie the score up at 73:24, but the defender deflected the ball before it could get towards the net. On the ensuing goalie kick, Sinclair was awarded a yellow card for contact with a wide-open Patriot.

A Sumner kick in from the sideline around the 76th minute was swallowed by the Franklin goalie, once again stopping the chance for the Dark Horses to tie the game. They had a chance once more on a corner kick a minute later, but it ended in the same result.

Nearly 60 seconds later, the same play happened two more times, marking the third and fourth time in two minutes for the Dark Horses to have a corner kick denied by the Patriots.

As the clock ticked down, the Dark Horses seemed to be in desperation mode, but it was to no avail. Franklin struck once more, at the 79:25 mark, making it a 3-1 game in their favor.

As the game came to a close, Clinton ended it with 11 corner kicks and 4 shots. Franklin had eight shots and three corners.

Coach Spell was enthusiastic with his team despite the loss. “I think it’s good for us,” he said in a post-game interview. “I scheduled good competition, and I do it on purpose just to see. There’s a chance we could meet these guys again.

“Give them all the credit in the world,” he continued. “They did a good job defensively against us. They limited our really quality chances. But we missed some opportunities, too. When you get 11 corner kicks and you get three, four balls right across the face of the goal, you’ve gotta finish those chances.”

Clinton moves to 17-2 on the season, but remains undefeated in conference play at 5-0. They will travel to West Bladen Monday.