East Bladen junior Eli Padilla fighting for a 50/50 ball.
Alex Brooks | Bladen Journal
Clinton have been averaging 7.2 goals per game this season.
Alex Brooks | Bladen Journal
East Bladen junior Eli Padilla fighting for a 50/50 ball.
Alex Brooks | Bladen Journal
Clinton have been averaging 7.2 goals per game this season.
Alex Brooks | Bladen Journal
EAST BLADEN
KENLY-The 13th seeded East Bladen Lady Eagles advance to the third round of the NCHSAA 2A state playoffs after defeating the fourth seeded North Johnston Panthers for a 2-1 victory last Thursday. Sophomore NeNe Ward bagged two goals to help her team move forward into the next round where they will face the 12th seeded Franklin Academy Patriots this Monday. The key for the Lady Eagles in this game will be slowing down their opponents potent attack and allowing their pressing from the front be their springboard in attack.
Franklin has played both the top seeds in the Eastern bracket of Clinton and Raleigh Charter for some tough tests during the regular season. They lost to the number-one seed Clinton Darkhorses in a 2-1 defeat in a non-conference matchup and they split the home-and-away fixtures with Raleigh Charter in conference. East Bladen have been riding the momentum of 10 straight victories and head coach Jay Raynor’s girls are playing some of their best soccer of the season.
The Lady Eagles backline and junior goalkeeper Reese Hester have been solid on the defensive end with 13 shutouts this season. Creativity in the middle of the park has been the Lady Eagles strength this season and it will be an important factor if they want to edge out their opponents. The Patriots have three players in their attack with more than 25+ goal involvements this season and their defense has registered over 10 shutouts.
CLINTON
CLINTON-The number-one seeded Clinton Darkhorses’ advance to the third round after defeating the 16th seeded Research Triangle Raptors for a 9-0 victory on Thursday. Clinton kept their playoff push going after making light-work of their last opponents and they will meet the ninth-seeded Southwest Onslow Stallions on Monday. The Stallions are conference champions in their own right but they haven’t faced a talented team like Clinton.
The Darkhorses’ have been winning comfortably all season and they’ve yet to be tested on the road to an undefeated season. They’ve averaged an insane 7.2 goals per game and their defense has given up less than 11 goals the entire season.
South Onslow junior forward Taylor Caper has been putting up video game numbers as well with 45 goals to her name this season. The South Onslow defense has been solid this season with 14 shutouts.