The Fayette Tribune, Oak Hill, W.Va.

Sports

September 10, 2012

Midland Trail boys go 1-2

After taking its first game last week and extending the winning streak to five, the Midland Trail boys soccer team stumbled to consecutive losses, putting its record at 5-3 on the season.

The Patriots cruised to an early 3-0 lead over Independence on Tuesday and held on against a late rally for the 3-2 victory. Tyler Skaggs increased his team-leading goal tally to seven in the season in scoring the first two goals of the evening for Trail, while senior midfielder Brandon Belcher chipped in the final score, his first of the season. Dallas Lesher and Danny Hunter chalked up assists in the victory.

Trail keeper Rickie Carter went largely untested through the contest, racking up five saves. The two Independence goals came against Trail’s backup keeper.

Coming back out the next night, Trail had trouble keeping up with an extremely fast Mingo Central team, going down by a score of 4-0. While Trail controlled possession for most of the contest, Mingo Central was able to break down the defense in scoring four breakaway goals.

Carter had eight saves for the evening.

In facing Class AAA Shady Spring on Thursday, the Patriots found themselves matched against their toughest opponent of the season. Carter had some standout saves in goal in stopping 11 Shady Spring shots, but five others managed to sneak into the net in the lopsided 5-0 contest.

“My concerns for this team from the start has been that we are young and inexperienced and that we do not as yet have quality depth,” said Midland coach Dave Pollard. “As a second-year program we essentially have a squad full of first- and second-year players. Quite frankly, to be 5-3 at this point shows how hard these kids are working.

“You never like to lose but I am more than satisfied with both the record and the direction that this team and program are taking. Nobody can take this team lightly. The scores of our last two games do not reflect the effort, nor do they reflect how we played. These kids will come back with a full head of steam as we move forward and they have plenty of victories left in them for the remainder of the season.”

In games this week, the Patriots meet Herbert Hoover on the road Tuesday before coming home for contests against Nicholas County (Thursday at 5:30 p.m.) and Saturday against Lincoln County (1 p.m.).

 

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