GAME RECAP: Carter 0-4 Gibbs
In the Onrise Care High School Game of the Week, the Eagles sting the Hornets, soaring to a big win in Strawberry Plains.
In a hard-fought match with an injury-depleted roster, the Carter Hornets (2-4) were unable to find a path to victory at home against the Gibbs Eagles (3-1-1), losing 4-0 in Strawberry Plains.
Both teams took time to establish themselves in the first half. Each made a handful of deep runs toward the goal, but the action primarily stayed around the center of the pitch. Defensive play dominated the first 20 minutes, with no clean attacks either way.
Junior forward Alex Garcia provided much of the downfield energy for the Hornets, showing good technique as he worked the ball into the box but was unable to convert his few shots into goals. Senior Hassan Al-Sultani and sophomore Carson Lewis in midfield enabled most of his runs, and they also took a few shots of their own.
On Gibbs’ end, senior Blake Goosie led the Eagles from the backline, where he coached his teammates through their possessions. Junior Evan Groom led the attack alongside senior Alex Rhoades and sophomore Xavi Ramos.
By the 25th minute, players began more intense back-and-forth battles for control, and each side attacked closer to the penalty area. Carter took some substantial shots around the 30-minute mark, but a pair of goals in quick succession for the visitors punctuated the late first half.
As Gibbs worked its way down the pitch, the Eagles earned a free kick halfway into the Hornets’ half of the field. The connecting header went awry and sent the ball to the right side. Rhoades found the ball and delivered a screaming kick across the net behind Hornet goalkeeper Nick Corum for the first goal of the night.
After the restart, Gibbs quickly found possession again along the left side of the pitch. Following a series of throw-ins, Goosie earned a free kick from about 35 yards out. It soared above the sea of players in the box and dipped just below the crossbar to make the score 2-0 for the visitors.
The second half opened to another slow start. Carter maintained control better for the first few minutes and took two close shots that landed just off the mark above the crossbar. Quickly, though, the Eagles regained control of the match with two quick goals.
In the 60th minute, Junior Benji Angola worked the ball to the right corner of the pitch. There he floated a shot just over Corum’s hands for another Eagles score. Four minutes later, Ramos sent a penalty kick to the left side that the diving keeper barely missed.
Despite the host’s best attempts to erase the deficit on the scoreboard, the match closed without further excitement.
Carter looks to rebound with their next match on March 30 at Lakeway Christian Academy. Meanwhile, Gibbs travels to Foley, Alabama, to play in the Southern Coast Cup, March 31–April 2. Then district play begins for both teams.
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Gibbs Head Coach Tim Pittman
On his team’s performance:
“I think the second half, after we had a heart-to-heart, we came back out and looked like we really wanted to be there. We were playing scared in that first half. It’s a contact sport, and we’ve got to play tough. You don’t have to foul, but you have to play hard. You need to body up on people, take the ball, be the first to the ball; that’s all just effort. After our half-time talk, I think that sparked their interest in getting some stuff done.”
Gibbs Senior Defender Blake Goosie
On the outlook for this season:
“We’ve been losing games that we shouldn’t have. We just haven’t had the killer mentality to put games away and leave everything on the field. We’re trying to get through district. We’ve got some good teams there: Austin-East and Halls. Last year, we didn’t make it past semifinals in district. Two years ago, we were district champs. We’re just trying to get back to that championship and make it far in the end-of-the year tournament.”
Carter Head Coach Dustin Dudley
On stepping up in big games:
“We didn’t really have anything offensively for an answer. Our guy that we needed to step up, I don’t think he stepped up tonight. I think that was the big thing. We just need to have guys step up in positions, and we didn’t have that tonight. We’ve just got to keep with the process. We get our key offensive player back for the next game, which will help. Then we’ll have a one-two punch up top with him and number 10 [Alex Garcia]. That’ll help get things going back in the right direction for us.”