East Bladen’s Ishaq Algozy (blue) dribbles the ball against Roxboro Community.
Sonny Jones / Bladen Journal
ELIZABETHTOWN – Ishaq Algozy felt confident going into East Bladen’s first round match Tuesday night against Roxboro Community in the first round of the N.C. High School Athletic Association 2A boys’ soccer playoffs.
After all, the Bulldogs had only one victory during the regular season and were seeded 23rd in the East.
The sophomore midfielder made sure the Eagles weren’t looking past their playoff opponent.
Algozy scored twice in the first 17 minutes as East Bladen (14-6-4) gained control early in a 6-0 victory on its home pitch.
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“We thought we were going to beat them,” Algozy said, “but, then, we don’t always want to judge a book by its cover because you never know. They might not have a good record, but they can still be good. I think we did good. We played hard at first when we started off.”
East Bladen, the No. 10 seed, is scheduled to play at No. 7 Raleigh Charter (10-6-3) on Thursday. Raleigh Charter received a first-round bye.
“Any time you get a win in the playoffs, it’s a good day,” East Bladen coach Jay Raynor said. “Did we play our best? No, not for 80 minutes. We jumped all over them early and, unfortunately, kind of played down a little bit.
“Roxboro Community didn’t quit. They, for sure, played 80 minutes,” Raynor said. “We had some uncharacteristic play, but played well enough to get the job done 6-0.”
East Bladen pounded 15 shots on goal with six finding the net and had a dozen corner kicks.
Algozy opened the scoring for the Eagles when he stole the ball and ripped a shot past the keeper from about 25 yards out five minutes into play.
East Bladen’s second goal came when Davion Lewis’ throw-in from the deep left glanced off the Roxboro Community keeper’s hand and landed in the net.
The Eagles increased their lead to 4-0 in a three minute span less than halfway through the first half. Miguel Ventura scored off a rebound at the 14 minute mark and Algozy converted a penalty kick three minutes later when Roxboro Community was called for a hand ball inside the box.
Android Garcia capped the first half scoring from about 10 yards out at the 29 minute mark.
The Eagles’ lone goal in the second half was scored by Landyn Scott off a rebound of a shot on goal by Damian Alonzo-Sanchez.
Raleigh Charter is in the same Diamond Nine Conference as Roxboro Community and defeated the Mustangs 6-0 and 4-0 this season. The Phoenix finished fifth in league play.
Sonny Jones can be reached at [email protected].