North Augusta boys' soccer beat region rival Midland Valley 4-1 on Tuesday to stay undefeated in Region 4-AAAA.
The Jackets spent much of the first half fighting for possession of the ball before settling into the game in the last 40 minutes. North Augusta controlled possession more consistently in the second half but only put the ball in the net two more times despite multiple scoring opportunities.
The team still has a lot of work to do, head coach Brent DeGennaro said.
“Not really the performances that we expect,” he said. “We've got to get better because we've got Aiken and South Aiken coming up again and they're both tough games the last two times we played them. And it came down to the last few minutes of each game, so we've got to perform better than we did tonight.”
DeGennaro said games like this one “should have been seven or eight goals, are three or four goals.”
North Augusta struck first with 29 minutes left in the first half, sneaking the ball into the goal as both teams scrambled for possession. The Jackets scored one more goal with just 11 minutes left in the half to take a 2-0 lead.
The second half was high emotion for Midland Valley as the Mustangs struggled to gain momentum offensively. North Augusta put the ball at the back of the net with 17 minutes left in the game under controversy as Midland Valley’s goalie claimed the ball went out of bounds moments before the goal.
The goal stood and the Jackets scored one more time in the game on a free kick with 13 minutes left.
The Mustangs scored for the first time with seven minutes left in the game. North Augusta fought to extend its lead for the remainder of the game but went scoreless as the clock counted down.
Midland Valley drops to 7-1 overall and 1-3 in the region. The Mustangs travel to Airport and Strom Thurmond next.
North Augusta is 4-0 in the 4-AAAA Region and 7-1 overall. The Jackets spend the rest of March on the road as they face South Aiken, Aiken and Irmo through the end of the month.
