ELIZABETHTOWN – The 15th-seeded East Bladen Eagles defeated the 18th-seeded Muttamuskeet Lakers for an 8-nil victory in the first round of the 1A NCHSAA State playoffs last Saturday. East Bladen freshman winger Ishaq Algozy highlighted the afternoon with three goals and he was responsible for two assists in the victory at home. The match started with the Eagles on the front foot and senior attacker Gabril Algozy blasted his team’s first shot towards goal in the first couple of minutes that put their opposition defense on notice.

The host got their big bodies forward on long throw-ins and they threatened their opponents goal with a glancing header that went wayward. Ishaq Algozy opened the scoring for the host with a lofted ball that sailed over the keeper’s head from 40-yards out for a 1-nil start in the 32nd minute of the first half. The Mattamuskeet defense were under siege once more at the kickoff as their opponents sent another shot from range towards their net.

Ishaq Algozy worked hard to win a battle in midfield and he took a few dribbles down the right flank before cutting inside to bang in the Eagles second goal with 10 minutes gone in the first half. Muttamuskeet’s first real chance at their opponents goal came with six minutes remaining in the half but senior striker Brayden Wayne clipped his shot wide of the target. The host continued to press forward in the hunt for more goals but their opponents defense were able to hold firm as their net took on a flurry of shots from long-range.

East Bladen switched into another gear from the ref’s opening whistle at the start of the second half and they immediately posed a threat in their opponents final third. The floodgates opened in the 33rd minute with Gabril Algozy scoring the third goal of the match on a low shot into the right corner. The Eagles pressed on with a series of attacks that left their opponents backline in disarray but the net would ripple eight minutes later to make things 4-nil.

The Lakers thought they had an open pathway toward their opponents net but Ishaq Algozy made a recovery run to prevent a shot from Wayne to derail the counterattack. East Bladen got their fifth goal of the match in the 20th minute after a volley from outside the box deflected into the net. The host would be on cruise control til the final whistle as they continue their postseason journey.

East Bladen freshmen Andrio Garcia bagged two goals in the second half as the second leading scorer of the match. Senior Marco Ventura and sophomore Jayce Hatcher also scored goals in Saturday’s first round victory. Gabril Algozy finished the match with three assists and senior Chace Butler also had an assist to his name. Junior Colton Daly and freshmen Fox Sutton combined efforts in between the sticks for the shutout in goal.

Head Coach Jay Raynor and the Eagle overall record moves to 11-6-2 with plenty left to play for this postseason. East Bladen will travel to Hobbton on Tuesday as they take on the number-two seeded team in the 1A East Region. The Hobbton Wildcats defeated the 21st-seeded East Columbus Gators in a 9-nil victory to begin their postseason campaign with momentum.

East Bladen and Hobbton got acquainted with each other in September; this non-conference match-up resulted in a 5-4 victory in favor of the Wildcats. Hobbton went on to finish their regular-season with an overall record of 18-5-2 and they won their conference title with an undefeated record. These two teams also met in the second round of the 1A playoffs last season and the Wildcats were crowned 5-nil victors in their clash a year ago.

The number-three seeded Pender Patriots and Waccamaw Conference champs respectively, advanced to the second round after defeating Southern Wake Academy for a 9-nil victory. They’ll continue their postseason journey against the 14th-seeded Hendersonville Collegiate Pride this Tuesday. The Heide Trask Titans finished second in the Waccamaw Conference and they earned the number-nine seed in the 2A East Region. The Titans defeated the 24th-seeded Southwest Onslow Stallions for a 1-nil victory. Heide Trask will host the 25th-seeded Roanoke Rapids Yellow Jackets in the second round of the 2A NCHSAA State Playoffs this Tuesday.

BOYS SOCCER:

Hoke 3, East Bladen 0

East Bladen 5, Union 2

East Duplin 3, East Bladen 1

East Bladen 3, Union 0

Clinton 8, East Bladen 0

Hobbton 5, East Bladen 4

East Bladen 1, South Columbus 0

East Bladen 3, Whiteville 2

East Bladen 3, Heide Trask 2

East Bladen 9, West Columbus 0

East Bladen 1, East Columbus 1

East Bladen 3, South Columbus 0

East Bladen 5, East Columbus 1

Pender 2, East Bladen 1

Heide Trask 2, East Bladen 1

East Bladen 10, West Columbus 0

East Bladen 10, Whiteville 0

East Bladen 1, Pender 1

#15 East Bladen 8, #18 Muttamuskeet 0

2024 Roster:

Ishaq Algozy(fr)

Andrio Garcia(Fr.)

Victor Alonzo(Fr.)

Connor Hill(Fr.)

Trey Wilson(Fr.)

Tyler Griffin(Fr.)

Kyran Mckoy(So.)

Landyn Scott(So.)

Treydon Scott(Jr.)

Geo Reyes(Jr.)

Fernando Rebollar(Sr.)

Colton Daly (Jr.)

Fox Sutton(Fr.)

Colin King(Sr)

Chace Butler (Sr.)

Marco Ventura(Sr.)

Tevin McClean (Jr.)

Tyler Eason (So.)

Easton Bostic(Jr.)

Davion Lewis(Jr.)

Gabril Algozy(Sr.)

Damian Alonzo-Sanchez(So)

Ethan Metz(So)

Jayce Hatcher(So)

JD McArthur(So)

Joesph Perez(Sr.)