The Union Spartans made the trip up 421 Thursday to take on the Midway Raiders in Four County soccer action. In a defensive struggle, the Spartans held on for a 2-1 victory.
Both teams had opportunities in the first half, but neither scored. It was at the 38:12 mark of the 2nd half that the Raiders scored a goal, compliments of Uvaldo Acosta. Midway was up 1-0.
The lead did not last. Just over a minute later, at the 36:55 mark, the Spartans hit pay dirt. Marco Baltazar found the back of the goal to tie things up at 1.
Just moments later, with 32:01 remaining, Union got on the scoreboard again, with a goal by Miguel Antonio. Union led 2-1 and that would be the final score.
The Raiders had several good opportunities to tie the score, but could not deliver.
“We’re 13-1 now,” asserted Union coach David Ameen. “I believe we’re still number 1 in the state and we’re proud of that. My guys really come up in intense situations like this where you know you’re going to come out and play a great team like Midway. I wish I could take credit for it, but it goes to my guys. They work hard at practice and they work hard on the field. They’ve got really good chemistry.”
“I really thought I had them in the first half,” remarked Raider coach Allen McLamb. “We had some really good shots on goal. They just found a way to get off on us. They made a couple of good saves. If we make those 3 goals I thought we had, we’re in this thing and gone. We got pushed down and we fought back. We’re not going to quit. I’m proud of the way we played. Union’s a good team. I give them credit for what they did on the field tonight, but I’m also proud of my team.”
Union improves to 14-1 overall and 7-1 in conference play. The Raiders fall to 7-5-2 and 4-4. The Raiders will host Pender on Monday and then travel to Clinton Wednesday. Union will host Trask on Monday and then visit Wallace-Rose Hill Wednesday.