Mustangs move forward in tournament

DODSONVILLE — Playing until there were just under 11 minutes remaining in regulation, the Lynchburg-Clay Mustangs won their Division V SE District Quarterfinal match by having an eight-goal lead in the second half, defeating Glenwood New Boston by an 8-0 score, Thursday. 

The Oct. 16 game saw the Mustangs, a No. 5 seed, defeat the No. 12 seeded Jeeps with four goals in each half, as it took the Mustangs a little time to warm up, but once they did it was basically game over for the visitors. 

“Sometimes we get into games like this where everyone feels they can go ahead and challenge the opponent individually, and there are just too many people on the field in soccer for that to work,” LCHS head coach Jason West said. “It took us about 25 minutes to get warmed up, but once we did, we kind of figured that out.

“We got a lot of the young kids into the game for some quality minutes, and when they got the opportunity they took advantage of it. Zander Odum is a good example of that because when he got into the game in the first half he caused a penalty kick, and in the second half he finished with a goal.”

LCHS scored their first goal with 12:00 left in the first half off a kick from junior Alexander VanFleet. The one-goal lead turned into a 2-0 score as sophomore Harley Lewis joined the party with a goal at the 8:30 mark of the first half. 

Next, with 5:58 left in the first half, it was sophomore Quin Wells with a goal as the lead increased to three goals. 

Then came the fourth goal of the first half as VanFleet made it a 4-0 game with his second goal of the match, leaving 5:21 on the first-half clock. 

The four-goal second half saw Wells score his second goal of the match with 33:42 remaining, and the five-goal advantage went to a 6-0 lead when sophomore Brayden Warne scored a goal off a penalty kick with 17:32 left in regulation. 

Lynchburg-Clay added a seventh goal with 14:05 left on the clock as freshman Glenn Watson scored a goal for a 7-0 lead. The final goal of the match by the Mustangs was kicked past the keeper by freshman Zander Odum with 10:50 left in the match, ending the tournament contest with the eight-goal lead. 

“We had six kids score goals, and when we are doing that it means we are doing a good job,” West said.

Assists for LCHS went to Lewis, Odum, junior Aric Slack, VanFleet and Wells. At goal for the Mustangs was sophomore Tanner Roberts. 

Next for the No. 5 seeded Mustangs is a Division V SE District Semifinal match on Monday, Oct. 20 against the No. 4 seeded Eastern Warriors at Zane Trace High School at the ZTHS Athletic Complex at 7 p.m.