Clarke Central High School junior and attacking mid Ulisses Silis defends against an Oconee County High School player in the March 25 match at Billy Henderson Stadium. According to CCHS senior and winger Cullen Bruner, the Gladiators stayed in control of the game defensively, but have opportunities for improvement. “We kept them to only one goal so that was nice. On offense, we have to work a little bit on finishing, and definitely me, too. But other than that, I think it was really good,” Bruner said. Photo by Aza Khan
The CCHS boys varsity soccer team played against Oconee County High School on March 25 and added another win to their overall record, making it 13-1.
On March 25, the Clarke Central High School boys varsity soccer team took on the Oconee County High School Warriors for a non-region game, winning 2-1 and bringing their record to 13-1.
The Gladiators started the game with early momentum, with junior and striker Clayton Dufur passing the ball through several OCHS players to set up senior and winger Cullen Bruner, who scored a goal in the first minute.
“I felt awesome because scoring that early gives us some momentum throughout the rest of the game, and it kind of sets the tone for the rest of the match so it was really big hitting the goal early,” Bruner said.
“I felt awesome because scoring that early gives us some momentum throughout the rest of the game, and it kind of sets the tone for the rest of the match so it was really big hitting the goal early.”
— Cullen Bruner,
boys varsity soccer winger
Seconds later, sophomore and striker Thaddeus Pruitt performed a throw-in, allowing a header from junior and center back Ehtaloe Htoo to assist senior and attacking mid Davis Gabriel in putting it past the OCHS goalie, taking the lead on OCHS to 2-0.
After the first two goals, OCHS switched up their defense, increasing the pressure on the Gladiators. The Warriors pushed the pace of the game but still went into halftime down 2-0 to the Gladiators.
“Their forwards did a really good job checking back and getting the ball at their feet and they had a lot of good hold-up play with their midfield,” CCHS head boys varsity soccer coach Chris Aiken said. “It (created) some confusion for our midfield and center backs, of who was going to mark and who was going to step up and who was going to drop off and it led to a few open chances for them. We were fortunate not to give up a goal there.”
Three minutes into the second half, OCHS senior Piers Ringdahl scored a goal, bringing the score to 2-1. The momentum from this goal increased the pressure from OCHS, according to Aiken.
“It was a great shot. It was hard to save for (CCHS goalkeeper) Nate (Paredes) and hard to defend for the field players. Then once that ball hit the back of the net it was a completely different game. Oconee got tons of energy, tons of life,” Aiken said. “It felt like all their players were just firing on all cylinders.”
The Gladiators were on the defensive for the rest of the second half in order to maintain their lead, with a frequent back and forth with OCHS. However, Bruner believes the Gladiators stayed focused despite the onslaught.
“They definitely put the pressure on us but I still felt confident that our defense was playing great and so I felt like we definitely could go on and win the game,” Bruner said.
“They definitely put the pressure on us but I still felt confident that our defense was playing great and so I felt like we definitely could go on and win the game.”
— Cullen Bruner,
boys varsity soccer winger
With multiple saves from Paredes, the Gladiators did not allow another goal from the Warriors, finishing the game 2-1.
While the win was welcome, Aiken says the team still has work to do before they can be ready to play at Athens Academy on March 29.
“We came out of the gate and scored twice early, and then (for) the rest of the game we really didn’t generate much high-quality offense,” Aiken said. “We’ll look to hopefully (at practice) on Monday to work on some passing patterns to get some easier goal-scoring looks, and hopefully have a more efficient offense next week for Athens Academy.”
