John Bruce, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
WINCHESTER — Eastern Brown came into Wednesday’s contest with an unblemished record, both in general, and inside Southern Hills Athletic Conference play.
It did not leave the same way when the final whistle sounded.
Despite having a sizable 19-9 shot advantage over North Adams, the Warriors couldn’t get the job done. The Green Devils made their opportunities count in a 3-0 victory.
“It definitely feels really good to beat a team of that caliber like Eastern Brown has shown themselves to be this season,” North Adams’ Tristan Young said. “It definitely gives us a lot of confidence moving forward to keep the wins coming.”
CREDIT: Raymond Gleadle/SOSA
With the victory, North Adams (8-1, 5-1 SHAC) moves into a three-way second place tie in SHAC play alongside Eastern Brown (9-1, 5-1 SHAC) and Lynchburg-Clay — all behind first-place Fayetteville.
North Adams came out of the gates on the attack, taking four shots within the first eight minutes of action. But Eastern’s Chase Pinkerton was able to corral a pair of attempts in the early going, keeping things scoreless.
However, after a shot was deflected out of bounds for a corner kick, the Warriors made the first mistake of the night.
From the left corner, the ball was sent in as an inswinger towards a mass of humanity in the box. Multiple Warriors went to head the ball away, but the ball hit off an Eastern defender’s back and into the back of the net for an own goal, making it a 1-0 NA lead with 30:02 to play.
Following the miscue, the Warriors picked up the intensity and their attack, forcing the Green Devils to be heavily on the defensive for the remainder of the opening half.
Despite this constant offensive attack, North Adams’ Thad Moore made multiple standout saves to keep the Warriors off the board.
“He’s a first-year goalie, but he’s played so well and came up with some big saves,” North Adams’ Daulton Pence said. “Although our defenders are just sophomores, they’re big-time players as well and they’ve all done a great job on that back line.”
PHOTOS: Images from North Adams’ win over Eastern Brown
The Warriors came close on a wild sequence with 14:30 to play in the half as Wills beat Moore to a ball in the box and sent a high shot near the corner.
However, Pence came to his goalie’s rescue and was able to head the ball off of the crossbar as it neared the goalline.
With the ball mere inches from a tying tally, North Adams touched it away, but a quick rebound shot was fired that seemed destined to hit the netting. However, once again, Pence was in the perfect position to make another non-goalie save to keep the clean sheet for the Green Devils.
“That was exciting and such huge momentum plays in just a few seconds,” Pence said. “It was such a big defensive play and we carried that defensive energy with us for the rest of the game.”
Eastern kept the pressure up throughout the half, but a quick counterattack from the Green Devils gave them all of the momentum.
Dylan Mullenix sent a low cross into the box on the break for North Adams, connecting with Tristan Young, who collected the pass and finished into the side netting for a 2-0 lead at halftime.
As time began to run out in the second half, both teams upped their level of physicality as they were both desperate for a win.
This opened the game significantly, giving the Warriors a multitude of shots. But Moore was there each time a shot was on target.
Pence, along with fellow defenders Jayce Durbin and Jaxson Baldwin, hung tough against the constant pressure from the Warriors.
A late whistle for a handball in the box against the Warriors set the Green Devils up for the dagger with 11:39 to play. Young stepped to the penalty spot and calmly slotted the kick into the net for his second goal and, ultimately, a huge SHAC win.
“We had a good lead, but we felt that we had to get another one in to surely put the game away,” Young said. “We were keeping the intensity up and making sure they weren’t matching it. Getting that penalty kick was huge and I knew that I had to remain calm and collected taking the shot.”
North Adams returns to action on Saturday at home against Ripley while Eastern Brown aims to rebound that same day at Whiteoak.
SPONSORED BY WILLEY & SON TRUCKING
