Spring Creek edges North Duplin for series sweep

By Ben Coley
Published in Sports on November 1, 2016 9:27 AM

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SEVEN SPRINGS -- Throughout the 2016 season, Spring Creek's back line has transformed into a rigid and unforgiving brick wall.

If any team possessed the best-suited sledge hammer, it's the North Duplin Rebels. The squad entered Monday's matchup averaging more than four goals per game.

But when the Gator defenders sink their teeth in and clamp down, it's hard for anyone to escape.

Using aggressive challenges and unrelenting pressure, Spring Creek triumphed 2-1 over North Duplin, and swept the season series.

 "We didn't finish our chances," said Rebels' coach James Foster. "We didn't take advantage of them. Other than that, I thought we did a good job on defense. Things looked better than what we've been doing."

Both offenses struggled through the first half, but the flow of the game played into the hands of the Gators. And when Spring Creek received an opportunity, it took the advantage.

In the 37th minute, the Gators set up for a corner kick. After the scrum cleared, Joseph Lebron gained possession and slammed it past the goalkeeper -- 1-0, Spring Creek.

It did not take long for the Gators to add to their advantage. Just two minutes into the second half, Hugo Zavala Gil found Joshua Beckerman around the left edge of the box. Beckerman finished the play by ripping the long ball to the right corner of the net.

"I think we started pretty good," said Gators' head coach Mario Aguilar Jr. "We were getting our shots, it was just, we were playing with only one forward. We started smooth in the beginning, but then they came back."

That come back was triggered in the 57th minute.

An airborne ball soared toward the Gators' box, and the North Duplin strikers were quickly closing.

Spring Creek's Juan Hurtado Gomez raised his hand and accidentally made contact with the ball. The referee determined Gomez had impeded North Duplin's advantage, so he lifted the red card.

"(Gomez) getting a red card changed a lot in the entire game," Aguilar Jr. said. "So I did a lot of tweaking. I had to drop one of my midfielders to defense so we could control the attackers."

The adjustment seemed to work until the 77th minute. Rebels' striker Dario Castaneda began a fast break, dribbled past two defenders and slipped it past Spring Creek goalkeeper Kevin Ulloa.

2-1, Gators.

Castaneda's effort proved too little too late. In the final three minutes, the Gators closed the match by blocking every threat posed by the Rebels.

Monday marked the final regular season game for both teams. Seeding for the soccer playoffs will take place on Thursday.

With 14 victories on the season, the Gators are poised for a favorable position in the postseason. And when that journey begins on Saturday, Aguilar Jr. plans on sticking to the basics.

"(We're) going to try to do what we do best," Aguilar Jr. said. "Try to keep possession of the ball and control the game -- it's a pass and give game. I told them to go out with a good mentality, and hopefully the outcome can be good."