Gaston Christian off to strong start in Gazette Cup
By Jack Flagler
Sports Editor GASTON GAZETTE
Posted Aug 22, 2017 at 10:49 PM Updated Aug 22, 2017 at 11:03 PM
Jacob Neely scored four goals and Davis McBee had two goals and three assists in an 8-1 Eagles win over Ashbrook
GASTONIA -- Gaston Christian soccer coach Justin Huitt said Tuesday night that his offense is not necessarily set up to feed the ball to Jacob Neely, but the Eagles’ junior foward made it appear that way in an 8-1 victory over Ashbrook.
Neely scored four goals, including three in the first half, as the Eagles sailed to a win in their Gazette Cup opener. Junior Davis McBee added two goals and three assists in the victory.
Gaston Christian will take on North Gaston Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the Cup semifinal after the Wildcats defeated Hunter Huss 3-1 in the opener Tuesday night.
Neely played the “9” - or the striker position - Tuesday night, a spot he’ll switch in and out of along with McBee and junior Frank Lopez. Whoever is finishing the play, Huitt said his players in the attacking zone all are capable of causing problems for the defense in 1-on-1 situations.
“He stands out a lot up there because of that speed,” Huitt said of Neely. “It’s not that we’re constantly looking for him, he’s just making the right run and we’re finding him.”
McBee opened the scoring early on an assist from Neely and Gaston Christian led 5-1 at the half. Ashbrook went down to 10 men early after a red card, and coach Evan Rankin said that wore mentally on his team. Ashbrook will take on Hunter Huss in the consolation round game Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
“We had a few good jamborees, and I thought we’d come out here and be a little more competitive,” Rankin said. “Obviously I didn’t get the job done getting them prepared for the game. But we’re going to come on Wednesday positive for practice and ready for Thursday’s game. Hopefully we have a better showing against Huss.”
Despite the large scoring margin, Huitt said there are still early season mistakes that need cleaning up, most notably set pieces and clearing better on defense.
“There’s absolutely stuff we can work on. We started to panic a little bit under pressure, especially coming out of the back, that will cost us in tight games,” Huitt said.
Freshman Justin Farris and senior Jacob Foster also had goals for Gaston Christian. Junior Colten Brewer had one assist. Ashbrook’s first-half goal was scored by sophomore Rene Morales on a pass from freshman Jayden Dixon.
By Jack Flagler
Sports Editor GASTON GAZETTE
Posted Aug 22, 2017 at 10:49 PM Updated Aug 22, 2017 at 11:03 PM
Jacob Neely scored four goals and Davis McBee had two goals and three assists in an 8-1 Eagles win over Ashbrook
GASTONIA -- Gaston Christian soccer coach Justin Huitt said Tuesday night that his offense is not necessarily set up to feed the ball to Jacob Neely, but the Eagles’ junior foward made it appear that way in an 8-1 victory over Ashbrook.
Neely scored four goals, including three in the first half, as the Eagles sailed to a win in their Gazette Cup opener. Junior Davis McBee added two goals and three assists in the victory.
Gaston Christian will take on North Gaston Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the Cup semifinal after the Wildcats defeated Hunter Huss 3-1 in the opener Tuesday night.
Neely played the “9” - or the striker position - Tuesday night, a spot he’ll switch in and out of along with McBee and junior Frank Lopez. Whoever is finishing the play, Huitt said his players in the attacking zone all are capable of causing problems for the defense in 1-on-1 situations.
“He stands out a lot up there because of that speed,” Huitt said of Neely. “It’s not that we’re constantly looking for him, he’s just making the right run and we’re finding him.”
McBee opened the scoring early on an assist from Neely and Gaston Christian led 5-1 at the half. Ashbrook went down to 10 men early after a red card, and coach Evan Rankin said that wore mentally on his team. Ashbrook will take on Hunter Huss in the consolation round game Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
“We had a few good jamborees, and I thought we’d come out here and be a little more competitive,” Rankin said. “Obviously I didn’t get the job done getting them prepared for the game. But we’re going to come on Wednesday positive for practice and ready for Thursday’s game. Hopefully we have a better showing against Huss.”
Despite the large scoring margin, Huitt said there are still early season mistakes that need cleaning up, most notably set pieces and clearing better on defense.
“There’s absolutely stuff we can work on. We started to panic a little bit under pressure, especially coming out of the back, that will cost us in tight games,” Huitt said.
Freshman Justin Farris and senior Jacob Foster also had goals for Gaston Christian. Junior Colten Brewer had one assist. Ashbrook’s first-half goal was scored by sophomore Rene Morales on a pass from freshman Jayden Dixon.
