The Tigers hit the road in their final match of the week to face Fork Union Military Academy in non-conference action. Getting off to a slow start, the Tigers were able to take control of the match in the second half for the 6-2 win over their arch rival.
The Tigers were able to get on the board first with Rakan Alshinibr (Saudi Arabia) who was able to put a through ball by the Fork Union backline to find Raines Wall (Chatham, VA) in the 2nd minute for the early 1-0 lead. Fork Union was awarded a late penalty in the first half and were able to capitalize to make it 1-1 at the break.
“Anytime you hit the road and you are at your rivals field, expect anything and everything,” stated head coach Jeremy Eubank. “We were able to put the first half behind us and play Hargrave soccer in the soccer half.”
It took no time for Hargrave to take control of the game as Youssef Abouzied (Cairo, Egypt) lobbed a ball over the Fork Union backline to find Wall for his second goal in the 45th minute for the 2-1 lead. Five minutes later (51st minute) the Tigers were able to find the back of the net once again as Caleb Gibbons (Toledo, OH) was able to put away a free kick to make it 3-1 Tigers.
The Tigers were able to add two more goals in the first 20 minutes of the second half (55th and 59th minute respectively) as Wall scored his third and Kyle Rose (Richmond, VA) finds Gibbons to make it 5-1 Tigers. Fork Union was able to respond in the second half by adding a goal in the 60th minute to make it 5-2; however, the Tigers responded right back in the 66th minute as Abouzied puts in the sixth goal of the game for the win.
“I was pleased with the second half effort, we were able to connect the passes needed to be able to dictate the game the way we wanted to play it,” stated Eubank.
With the win and goals scored in the game, brings the Tigers’ win total to 11 on the season and 77 goals on the season. This ties last year’s win total and breaks the record of goals scored in a season in recent years. “To be able to continuously set the standard of what we want to accomplish and where want to finish is good to see. It shows that the progress is there from all,” stated Eubank. “To score 77 goals in 13 total games is an unheard of accomplishment and shows how much in sync we are on the field right now.”
The Tigers return to action on Tuesday as they travel to Lynchburg, VA to face New Covenant at 6 PM.
