Spring Creek nips Southern Nash, 2-1

By Ryan Hanchett
Published in Sports on September 27, 2013 1:48 PM

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rhanchett@newsargus.com

SEVEN SPRINGS -- Spring Creek took advantage of an early opportunity.

The Gators' defense made it stand up.

Ivan Lemus scored a goal in the second minute of play and Spring Creek held on for a 2-1 win over Southern Nash on Thursday afternoon.

"Having a non-conference game this late in the year was good for us," Spring Creek head coach Linda Salter said. "We used today to work on some things that we need to improve and ultimately we did enough to get the win."

Lemus got the Gators on the board in the second minute when he collected a Southern Nash turnover and converted an open shot.

The Firebirds had a perfect chance to tie the game in the 26th minute when a foul inside the 18-yard box led to a penalty kick. Moises Gonzalez watched in agony as his shot slid just outside the right post.

The score remained 1-0 until the intermission.

Southern Nash tied the contest 1-1 in the 51st minute when Gonzalez made up for his earlier miscue with a laser shot into the corner of the net.

Spring Creek retook the lead for good in the 57th minute. Otto Binar sent a corner kick into the six-yard box and David Ortiz finished the play with a brilliant shot over the Firebirds' keeper.

"Overall I felt like tonight our defense was much better than the past game," Salter said. "(Southern Nash) still got a lot of shots, but most of those shots came from the outside and from bad angles. We did a better job of taking away the middle of the field."

Spring Creek (7-2-1 overall) resumes Carolina 1-A Conference play at Lakewood on Monday. The Gators battle Hobbton for second place in the league standings on Wednesday.