The Hargrave Tigers traveled down 29 South on Tuesday evening for a non-conference match against the Bulldogs of Westover Christian Academy. Despite a rough start, the Tigers returned to Chatham with a 4-2 victory, improving their season record to 1-0-1.
Westover Christian Academy struck first, scoring in the 5th minute but Hargrave quickly evened up the score with a 10th minute penalty kick goal from senior Midfielder Gisa Rugema (Kigali, RWANDA). Shortly after tying up the score, Hargrave utilized some great passing as junior Midfielder Dimitri Clinton (Chatham, VA) placed a beautiful through ball to the foot of freshman Forward Usman Adegbenro (Richmond, VA) for the go ahead goal. With the goal, Adegbenro recorded his first career varsity goal. Late in the first half, Westover knotted up the score at 2-2 heading into halftime.
“I was very pleased with how we responded to the early goal and with the challenges we have faced early on,” stated Head Coach Jeremy Eubank. “We talk about family and that showed in the first half.”
The final 40 minutes were dominated by the Tigers en route to their 4-2 victory. Senior Forward Chad Demarest (Naples, FL) scored in the 50th minute, striking an outstanding corner kick just around the near post. Julio Galindo, a freshman Forward from Bay Islands, HONDURAS, joined Adegbenro in scoring his first career varsity goal in the 61st minute to secure the Hargrave win.
“We were very balanced today defensively and offensively. We took advantage of the opportunities given to us, scoring off of both a penalty kick and a corner kick. With the two goals we scored in the field as well, it shows that we are going to continue making strides,” Eubank remarked. “We connected on over 70 passes from our midfielders today. Our guys are really taking the feedback and working on getting better each day.”
Box Score
| Team | 1st Half | 2nd Half | Final |
| Hargrave Military Academy | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Westover Christian Academy | 2 | 2 | 4 |
Goals
5′-WCA
10′-HMA-Rugema (Unassisted)
20′-HMA-Adegbenro, U (Assisted by D. Clinton)
40′-WCA
50′-HMA-Demarest (Unassisted)
61′-HMA-Galindo (Unassisted)
Saves
HMA-Hayden Everett (4 Saves, 1-0-1)
HMA-John Ratchford (5 Saves)
The Tigers will be back in action on Friday afternoon as they take on Southwest Virginia Homeschool. The match is scheduled to begin at 5:00 PM at Simpson Parade Field.
