Don’t feed the bears…Sevier County sinks teeth into Elizabethton in Region 1-AA soccer, 6-0
Published 8:36 am Thursday, May 16, 2019
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Elizabethton’s Evan Fulmer pushes the ball toward the Sevier County net in Tuesday action.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Braden Holly slides to attempt to gain possession of the ball against the Smoky Bears Cristian Miranda.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Cyclone goal keeper Noah Lambert comes out of the net to kick the ball away from a charging Sevier County player.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Elizabethton’s Braden Holly and Sevier County’s Kent Koester go airborne in an attempt to control the ball.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Elizabethton’s Jaxton Holly back and Max Peterson almost butt heads trying for a header to repel a Smoky Bear attack.
Star Photo/Ivan Sanders Cyclone Braden Holly soars high to block an attempted shot on goal from Sevier County’s Alberto Garfias.
SEVIERVILLE— The Elizabethton Cyclones paid a visit to Sevier County’s Soccer Complex on Tuesday, not in search of Dolly Parton, but definitely in the hunt to garner a Region 1-AA championship berth and an automatic sectional bid.
Dolly’s bit may have been a little less painful than the Smoky Bears who stood up tall and let out a big roar with a quick goal and then cruised the rest to of the way for a 6-0 shutout of the Cyclones.
The game had just kicked off when Elias Henriquez blasted the ball into the back of the net only 12 seconds into the game.
That blast seemed to shellshock the Cyclones who wasn’t expecting the quick-strike attack.
“I don’t think that quick first goal helped,” said Cyclone head coach Bill McClay. “You are hoping to get into the game—five minutes, ten minutes to get your feet.
“The first ball went in so you hope you are better prepared for them but we haven’t seen them play and you have to be prepared to play. Yeah, the goal caught us off guard and everything they did was precise there.
“Then we settled down a bit and then it wasn’t until seven or eight minutes till they scored again.”
The Smoky Bears recorded another goal at the 30:38 mark of the game when Kent Koester was successful when he slid the ball past the diving effort of Cyclone goalkeeper Noah Lambert to take a 2-0 lead.
For good measure, the Smoky Bears tacked on a goal by Henriquez with 16 seconds remaining in the first half to give Sevier County a comfortable 3-0 edge heading into the intermission session.
“They were spot on and constantly in motion and when we did get the ball, I think that I counted in the first half eight or nine times when we passed the ball to them with no pressure,” McClay said. “We just weren’t precise at all and they were very precise.
“The 50-50 balls and the second ball which even when we contend for the first one— when the ball came back down to the ground, they were getting that also. We have had games where we have done that and they were just all over us tonight.”
Unfortunately, the Smoky Bears weren’t finished as Cristian Bonilla found the net at the 67:24 minute of the contest to make it a 4-0 cushion for Sevier County.
The Smoky Bears added goals by Ryan Clark (68:13) and Heber Matute (72:10) to close out the scoring in the contest and advance Sevier County to a Thursday showdown with Greeneville for the title.
“In the second half, we had an injury and I had to move things around and change a formation which we have never played that this year,” McClay stated. “We kind of went to the middle of the half until they adjusted.
“Hats off to them they really played a good game and Greeneville is going to have their hands full. There is no reason to hang our heads.
“All-in-all, you always hope the game will be close but someone has to lose tonight and unfortunately it was us,” continued McClay. “We had a lot of support tonight and we were hoping to give a better showing than we did.”
The Cyclones closed out their season with a 12-4-1 record.
