Alexander Reyes fights with a West Bladen opponent for the ball.
                                 Brandt Young|Sampson Independent

Alexander Reyes fights with a West Bladen opponent for the ball.

Brandt Young|Sampson Independent

<p>Luke McCray looks to make a move on a Knight and get a steal.</p>
                                 <p>Brandt Young|Sampson Independent</p>

Luke McCray looks to make a move on a Knight and get a steal.

Brandt Young|Sampson Independent

<p>Holden Register has a collision with two opponents en route to getting the ball back for the Raiders.</p>
                                 <p>Brandt Young|Sampson Independent</p>

Holden Register has a collision with two opponents en route to getting the ball back for the Raiders.

Brandt Young|Sampson Independent

<p>Luis Florido shows off his footwork to get through the defense.</p>
                                 <p>Brandt Young|Sampson Independent</p>

Luis Florido shows off his footwork to get through the defense.

Brandt Young|Sampson Independent

<p>Jayden Espino-Diaz, #10, lines up for his first goal of the night as Jose Flores, #9, watches.</p>
                                 <p>Brandt Young|Sampson Independent</p>

Jayden Espino-Diaz, #10, lines up for his first goal of the night as Jose Flores, #9, watches.

Brandt Young|Sampson Independent

As the soccer season draws nearer to a close, the 11-4-1 Midway Raiders were at home Wednesday to defend their home turf against SAC-6 foe, 7-7 West Bladen, on senior night. The hometown Raiders emerged victorious, and nearly pitched a shutout win, 7-1.

The Raiders took the ball into their offensive zone first, starting their attack from the kickoff.

Holden Register got it to Lenin Alcocer-Aguirre to the right of the goal with 38:34 left in the first half, looking for an early go-ahead score, but a West Bladen defender was there to stop the attempt. After this, the teams took to the midfield area to start the back-and-forth battle, and both teams traded possessions in their offensive zones.

That is, until Jayden Espino-Diaz got through the Knights’ defense and found the back of the net less than 5 minutes into the game at the 35:20 mark, making it a 1-0 lead for the home team. The Raiders nearly doubled up just 40 seconds later, but the shot went wide left.

Luis Florido rocketed another one towards the goal with just north of 31 minutes left, but the West Bladen goaltender was there for the stop.

The Knights broke loose towards Midway’s goal, but Keller Godwin was there at the front of the box for the sliding stop as the clock ticked just past 30 minutes remaining in the opening half.

A Midway corner kick nearly crossed the line for a goal with around 25 minutes left, but the Knights’ goalie thwarted the attempt. On the ensuing clearing punt, West Bladen had what looked to be an open lane to the Midway goal, but it was called back because of an offsides penalty — which wasn’t their first of the night.

Coming down the field on a rebound, the Raiders put another into the net at the 18:36 mark, giving them the 2-0 lead.

Everett Jackson followed it up with a goal of his own barely over a minute later, knocking in a header of his own with 17:21 remaining, making it a 3-0 lead. And, like clockwork, he did it again at 16:18 off of another corner kick, extending the lead to 4-0.

Espino-Diaz got down the right side with 13:07 left for a chance, but it sailed wide left.

West Bladen continued to attempt to get offensive pressure, but Midway was there to take it back. As the clock showed 10 minutes left, Nash Warren tried a header towards the goal, and Espino-Diaz tried to header it himself to give an assist, but it sailed high and right.

At 6:19, a West Bladen shot attempt ricocheted off the top bar of the goal, a sign of their offensive woes to this point.

The scoring party for the Raiders continued, as Jackson scored again with 28 seconds to go, to make it 5-0 as the half ended.

“Play our game like we can, and be smart about it,” head coach Russ Warren said to his team as they took the field to start the second half.

Less than a minute into the closing half, the Knights sent a shot to the goal, but Godwin was there once more.

The Raiders continued their offensive punches, but with some reprieve for West Bladen. The Knights turned their offensive pressure up noticeably in the second half, with their five goal deficit, but the Raiders continued to hold strong defensively.

Joshua Santillan truly snuck one past the goalie, as the West Bladen goaltender came out to thwart the attack, but Santillan rainbowed it over his head for the Raiders’ sixth goal of the night at the 25:06 mark.

And just a few moments later, Luke McCray added the seventh for the Raiders at 24:41, as the game continued to spiral out of control for the Knights, and the Raiders took the commanding 7-0 lead. This would mark Midway’s final goal of the night, but in commanding fashion.

The Knights nearly struck the back of the net for the first time with 21:15 remaining in the game, but a shot was missed left of the goal.

Despite the lopsided score, the Raiders continued the offensive pressure, taking shots and chances as the game moved into the last two minutes.

West Bladen struck pay dirt for the first time at the 1:16 mark, but it was too-little-too-late, as the Raiders held onto a 7-1 lead.

“Excited, confident, ready,” said Russ Warren, on how his team is feeling as they finish out their season and look at the playoffs. “We needed tonight — I had a couple of guys that needed to score, like Josh Santillan, and Jayden [Espino-Diaz] got his hat-trick, so it was good to get our goals and get our confidence up.”

After mentioning the trip to Red Springs on Monday, Warren said it’s “always a tough game” for the Raiders, and they need to “finish out strong.”

“Senior night’s tough, because you’re trying to get all your seniors playing time,” he continued. “You’ve got guys playing in positions they don’t normally play in; everybody’s excited because they’ve got their family here.”

Midway moved to 12-4-1 on the season and 4-2 in the conference before they depart for Red Springs on Monday. They will finish at home with St. Pauls on Oct. 30, and Spring Creek on Nov. 6.

Reach Brandt Young at (910) 247-9036, at byoung@clintonnc.com, or on the Sampson Independent Facebook page.