Bob Jones boys win first Warriors Soccer Cup
Bob Jones Matthew Van Scoy kicks as defenders from James Clemens move in
(RECORD PHOTO/LINDSAY VAUGHT)
MADISON- Tuesday night, soccer took center stage at Madison City Schools Stadium as the boy’s teams from Madison’s two high schools became the final sport of the school year to meet on the playing field.
James Clemens entered the game on a five game winning streak. Bob Jones was coming off a 1-0 loss to Hoover decided on a penalty kick with 45 seconds left.
Bob Jones broke open a scoreless game at halftime and went on to win 2-0 behind goals from Sutton Snyder and Shay Appling. Gil Gardner turned in a spotless night in goal and the Patriots remained perfect in Class 6A, Area 14 play.
James Clemens had scoring opportunities in the first half but could not convert. Josh O’Bryant’s open shot on goal sailed high and Marcus Swain was stopped on a breakaway shot by Gardner. The Jets only senior, Skyler Schmidt also had a shot on goal.
Bob Jones Coach Uwe Spiller clearly was not happy with his teams performance in the first half.
“It was the worst performance of the boys this season and I told them so at halftime,” Spiller said. “James Clemens took the game to us and won every 50-50 ball.”
Early in the second half Bob Jones began to dominate and play in the Jets end of the field. The Jets got a good defensive play from Alex Black as he took the ball away from Shay Appling who had a clear shot on goal.
The Warriors Soccer Cup
Bob Jones kept the pressure on and Sutton Snyder took a rebound and drilled a short scoring kick past goalie Thomas Draper at 23:42.
Shay Appling made it 2-0 Bob Jones at 13:39 as he weaved through the Jets defense and beat Draper far post.
“I brought an extra attacker because James Clemens wanted to hold the game tight,” Spiller said. “They had six or seven players behind the ball. We struggled with one striker. We went to two forwards in the second half and were able to break down their defense better.”
James Clemens had a couple scoring opportunities late when Marcus Swain’s clean shot on goal went wide. Swain was later stopped again by Gardner inside the 6 minute mark after beating the Patriot defense deep.
Swain, a junior, played at Bob Jones last year. Alex Black and Skyler Schmidt also played on the Bob Jones varsity soccer team last season.
Bob Jones is now 7-4-1 and James Clemens is 6-4-3.
