Horses pitch shutout en route to state championship

The Clinton’s men’s soccer team looked for revenge in their NCHSAA 2A Eastern regional matchup with the Greene Central Rams Tuesday night. And they got it — winning 2-0 in their first-ever time as host of an Eastern regional. The team is now state championship-bound this weekend.

With the win, Clinton secured their spot in the 2A state championship game against Southwestern Randolph. Both teams are the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. They will square off Friday, Nov. 22, at 7 p.m. The game will be held at the Mecklenburg County Sportsplex in Matthews.

A year ago, Clinton and Greene Central faced off in the regular season, where Clinton won, and again in the fourth round, where the Rams won and ended the Dark Horses’ season. They faced off in the regular season again this year, and again, the Horses found themselves victorious. Not wanting to suffer the same fate as a season ago, the Horses wanted to get Greene Central back for their playoff loss.

As expected, the two proverbial gladiators on the pitch immediately took to an intense battle Tuesday night. Greene Central took the ball first, but Clinton swiftly moved to the attack. Each team had an early look at getting one behind their opponent’s goalie, but both flew wide left within the first three minutes. Other than that, the teams battled it out, mostly around midfield.

James Sinclair, Oskar Adasiak, Cullen Brewer, and Ryan Freeman all stood strong defensively, helping Luis Bartolome not see much action early. Bartolome got his first save of the night barely past five minutes into the game on a long, but slow shot from the Rams.

“Feet, feet, feet!” CHS coach Brad Spell yelled from the sidelines. “We gotta get the midfield going!” Those commands came as the game neared 10 minutes played, with neither team gaining any true momentum, besides the occasional long ball into either offensive zone.

The Horses nearly broke free on an open shot, as Holden Spell got loose and was served a deep pass, but the Rams’ goalkeeper came out of the box and grabbed it before Spell could get a foot on it.

With 14:10 showing on the clock, Griffin Williams had what looked to be an open lane to the goal, but was tripped by a Greene Central player on his way, which resulted in a penalty kick. It was unsuccessful from Clinton, and the rebound wasn’t able to be fielded by the Dark Horses.

And just like that, Holden Spell got behind the Rams’ defense at 19:21, and got the game’s first goal, making it 1-0 Clinton.

Greene Central tried to return the favor as they moved down field at the 21st minute, but their shot was once again wide left.

After these, the midfield tug-of-war was back in play. Clinton would get it down into their offensive zone, the Rams would clear it, and Clinton would field the clearing pass to restart the process. Both teams came into this game with notoriously strong defenses, and they showed it on the biggest stage of the year to this point. Two immovable objects were met with two unstoppable forces — which side would win was still yet to be determined as the clock showed just 10 minutes left in the opening half.

From the proverbial wall that was Clinton’s defense to a literal one on a free kick, the Dark Horses weren’t allowing Bartolome to be bothered much with their extensive teamwork defensively. No matter how clear Greene Central thought they were heading to the goal, a Clinton defender was there to poke and prod and get the ball back for the home team.

Greene Central tried everything they could to put offensive pressure on Clinton, but nothing was working in their favor. The Dark Horses squandered every single attack at the earliest chance they got, and the ball barely moved past midfield for much of the remainder of the first half

As the teams broke for the intermission, Clinton’s defensive was the star of the show, and they held onto the 1-0 lead.

Not even 30 seconds into the second half, JJ Najera nearly connected for a goal on a header from a centering pass. The intensity in which the Horses were playing was nearly palpable as they showcased speed on both ends of the field. The hunger for another insurance goal was felt throughout the Dark Horse Soccer Complex.

Greene Central thought they found a lane to the goal with 46:30 on clock, but the smothering blanket that was Clinton’s defense didn’t let that happen. Wide left the shot went, like most of theirs had all night.

Bartolome got a crucial save, which was his second of the night, as the clock crept towards the 50th minute. The Rams had a corner kick left of the net, and the rebound shot threatened his throne in the bottom left corner. Showcasing his flashy hands and precise footwork, he was there to stop it from invading the net, keeping the score the same.

Camden Parker sent a free kick towards the net at 53:20, but it was errant to the right and Clinton couldn’t field it. The Rams had put more pressure on offensively, but they still couldn’t make anything of it. Clinton struck back and continued their up-tempo attack, but they were equally thwarted.

David Paz connected on a header from a corner kick from Brandt Sumner at the 62:42 mark, giving the Horses the extra padding on the scoreboard, as it now showed 2-0 in their favor.

Up two scores late in the game, Clinton kept the offensive pressure. Najera received a red card on a rough tackle in the 68th minute, sidelining him for the rest of the contest.

Time crept past the 75th minute and the Clinton defense still showed no reprieve for the Rams. Bartolome got his fourth save of the night on the ground. Shortly after, he was awarded a yellow card for stalling after taking the ball to the ground after catching it high. Garrison Hill came in with less than three minutes to try and save the shutout for the Horses, and Bartolome came back in shortly after.

“Just clear, just clear!” Spell told his team as the game moved into the final minute and a half. The frustration grew with Greene Central, as one of their players was awarded a red card of his own on a tripping call.

Clinton held on strong to their lead, and as the announcer led the fans in counting down the final seconds of the game, the Dark Horses got their revenge on the Rams.

Fireworks and fanfare ensued, and so did a more-relaxed Spell. “Feels good,” he said in a post-game interview. He also noted that he isn’t “big on stats or records or anything,” but Tuesday night, the Dark Horses set a school record for most wins in a season, with 27, and tied their record for most shutout victories, with 19.

With the win, Clinton secured their spot in the 2A state championship game against Southwestern Randolph. Both teams are the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. They will square off Friday, Nov. 22, at 7 p.m. The game will be held at the Mecklenburg County Sportsplex in Matthews.