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BY ALLEN LAMOUNTAIN

STAR CORRESPONDENT

GREENEVILLE – With first place on the line in District 1-AA boys soccer, the Elizabethton Cyclones fell short in a 3-nil loss to the Greeneville Greene Devils on Tuesday at Burley Stadium.

EHS senior defender Holston Howard fired an early rocket that clanged off the crossbar of the Devils goal frame and was the only real threat posed by the Cyclones (6-3-2, 2-1 conference) in this match.

Greeneville (6-5-1, 2-0 conference) took a 1-nil first-half lead on a fine crossing pass from sophomore Drew Shelton to the foot of fellow sophomore Brady Quillen who fired a left-footed blast into the EHS net in the 13th minute of play.

“We simply couldn’t possess the ball,” Cyclones head coach Bill McClay said. “We just kept on giving it back to them. In the first half, we had two really good opportunities but we needed to be able to possess the ball better.

“In the second half they got a goal in the first five minutes and that one was tough.”

Howard took a free kick late in the first half from 30 yards out and senior Braden Holly attempted to direct a header shot that flew over the crossbar and a corner kick from Howard was played at the post by Devils goalkeeper Colby Freeman.

Both second-half goals were a failure of the EHS back line to clear the ball from its own end and senior Samuel Crawford took advantage with a left-footed shot from the 20-yard line that beat Cyclones goalkeeper Noah Lambert to his right.

Crawford’s score in the 44th minute gave Greeneville a 2-nil lead and put pressure on the Cyclones to find an answer but none came.

EHS had three shots on goal in the match and did not penetrate the Devils’ end of the field very effectively. The Cyclones in the second half were forced into shooting long shots that Freeman had little trouble with and making long passes that found no connection.

“We didn’t look as comfortable with the ball on our foot as they did,” McClay said. “The effort was good but we need to work a little harder and change things up a bit.

“We stood toe-to-toe with them and we’ll see them again in two weeks hopefully and maybe get a place in the region playoff. That’s where it stands now.”

In the 68th minute junior Cade Snelson scored on a giveaway in the EHS penalty area as they did not clear the ball away effectively and Snelson’s tally clinched the match for the Devils.

—

Greeneville 3-0

Elizabethton 0 0 – 0

Greeneville 1 2 – 3

Scoring Summary

First Half

G – Quillen (assist Shelton) 13:00

Second Half

G – Crawford (unassisted) 44:00

G – Snelson (unassisted) 68:00