Written By: Logan Barker
The Mingo Central Miners were set for Senior Night!
The Miners (would be on their home turf going to battle against the Westside Renegades. This was the Miners Senior Night and Mingo would be celebrating and honoring 4 seniors that are on the team – striker Blake Stacy, goalkeeper Mason Hatfield, goalkeeper/defender Autumn White and midfielder Christian Joplin. In the end, they came out on top, 6-2.
The Miners would come out quickly within the first 5 minutes and score a goal. Joplin was responsible for this goal, and this would be his first goal in his high school career. Joplin wasn’t the only one getting their first goal. Hatfield, who has been in goal all season, was given the opportunity to take a penalty kick for the Miners, and he drilled it and scored his first goal in his high school career as well. This game had plenty of shots taken. Stacy attempted 4 shots, Joplin took 6 shots, Bella Hall had 3 shots, Kendan Trent attempted 15 shots and Tyler Coleman, Caleb Simpkins, Jacob Blankenship, and Hatfield all took 1 shot each. The Miners took a total of 32 shots this game.
Trent ended the game with 4 goals, including 2 goals assisted by Coleman and 1 assisted by Stacy. Trent would finish the game 2 goals away from breaking the school record for goals in a season. He ended up breaking that record the very next game against Bluefield where he had another 4 goals and a great performance.
Defensively, the Miners played 3 goalkeepers. Hatfield started the game out and finished his time there with 5 saves on goal and 0 goals allowed. White subbed in at the half and played 30 minutes into the second half while having 8 saves and 2 goals allowed. With 10 minutes remaining, Coleman was put in for White as she went back to defender. This was Coleman’s first time at goalkeeper and he had 3 shots taken on him and he ended the game with 3 saves and 0 goals allowed.
Westside had 2 players score on free kicks from beyond the 30 yard line. Ian Morgan was the first player to get on the board for the Renegades and not long after Joseph Carlucci scored from a very similar spot on the field.
The Miners took their 7th win of the season and defeated the Renegades with a score of 6-2. Mingo Central now advances to 7-7 and Westside falls to 0-11 on the season.
This year was Westside’s first year with a soccer team and this was their last game of the season.
“The season was a rough one,” said Renegade head coach Brandon Cochran. “I came into this season not expecting a lot because this was the first time all but one kid has ever played soccer. Next year, even though I’m losing 8 seniors, it’s going to be better. I’ve learned a lot of lessons teaching these kids everything they know and if I can continue to have the growth we had this year then we will do well. Even though we didn’t win a game this year, I feel like I had a successful season. We started a program that’s never been there and took kids that couldn’t pass a ball straight to being able to score goals. I consider that a win in my book. The future is bright for these kids. Most of my other kids are freshmen and sophomores, so the next few years they could be tough.”
“One kid that really surprised me is Johnathan Hornbuckle,” added Cochran. “He was my goalie for the season. He came in with zero soccer experience other than playing FIFA. He stepped into the goalie box and learned the ropes and gave it his all every game. Several games he had double digit shots on the goal with no goals allowed in the first half. It was impressive considering the experience he had.”
The Renegades will go on to play James Monroe on the road on October 16th at 6:00 PM in their first game of the sectional tournament. If the Renegades win, they will be set to play against Pikeview on the road on October 18th at 6:00 PM.
The Miners will go on to play Bluefield on October 16th at 6:00 PM on the road for their first game of the sectional tournament. If the Miners win, they will be set to play again on October 18th at 6:00 PM against Shady Spring on the road
Photo Courtesy of Samantha Waine
