West Bladen’s Daniel Gustafson stands over a freekick.
Alex Brooks | Bladen Journal
BLADENBORO — The West Bladen Knights defeated the Red Springs Red Devils for a 4-3 victory in a SAC 6 clash on Wednesday night. The Knights were quick and decisive on their counter-attacks to bag their goals but senior goalkeeper Oswaldo Gonzalez-Lopez made crucial saves to deny the visitors a second half comeback. Senior forward Darwin Garcia opened the scoring in the first half for the Knights after smashing his shot in the top left corner in the 20th minute.
Red Springs rushed their opponents goal on the ensuing kickoff but their opponents defense held firm to keep them scoreless. West Bladen were relentless going forward in the first half as the visitors struggled to connect passes together. Sophomore winger Jonah Bryan almost doubled the Knights lead when a corner-kick connected with his head but his shot fell straight into the keeper’s hands.
Bryan would chase down a diagonal ball from midfielder Kevyn De La Cruz Labra on a counter-attack for a first time finish inside the box to extend the host lead to 2-nil with 9 minutes to play. Red Springs were on the ascendancy for the last 10 minutes of the first half and forced Gonzalez-Lopez to make saves after good ball movement around the Knights box. The Red Devils were able to get a goal back in the final minute of the half with a bit of luck after a shot from distance took an awkward deflection off an opposing defender and trickled into the back of the net.
Red Springs had the bulk of the possession in the second half but the Knights were able to win the ball in dangerous areas to spring their attacking chances. West Bladen junior winger Christopher Ramirez Labra dispossessed a defender before charging forward into the Red Springs box for a cool finish to put the host ahead 3-1 in the 26th minute. De La Cruz Labra would make it 4-1 in the 18th minute after blasting a shot from distance and the game appeared to be in the Knights’ control.
Red Springs responded within the minute and slashed their opponents lead to 4-2 with just enough time to hunt for an equalizer. De La Cruz and Bryan had opportunities to put the game to bed for the Knights with some great chances in front of goal but their shots went wide of the mark. Red Springs survived the moments of danger and they pushed forward towards their opponents net with a wave of attacks.
The Red Devils got their third goal of the night in the 12th minute after their forward wiggled free from his defender for the easy finish. The Knights were pinned back in their own half for the last 10 minutes of the match and were able to hold their goal advantage until time expired. West Bladen concluded their regular season with an overall record of 5-16 and they finished 5th in the SAC 6 standings with a 1-7 record.
The Knights honored seven of their seniors before the game started–Darwin Garcia, Shaun “Walker” Barkley, Ricardo Rodriguez Gonzalez, Oswaldo Gonzalez-Lopez, Levi German, Eddie Labra, Daniel Gustafson.
FINAL STANDINGS FOR THE SAC 6:
1. Clinton (19-2-1, 7-0-1)
2. Midway (18-2-1, 5-2-1)
3. St. Pauls (11-8, 4-4)
4. Red Springs (4-11-1, 2-6)
5. West Bladen (5-16, 1-7)
6. Fairmont (0-0,0-0)