Written By: Logan Barker
Mingo Central lost to Bluefield, 3-2, in a very close matchup this past Monday.
The Mingo Central Miners traveled on the road this past Monday all the way to Mercer County to take the field against the Bluefield Beavers. They split the games they played in the regular season with Bluefield taking a 8-2 victory over the Miners in their first meeting and Mingo Central came right back and took a 4-2 win over the Beavers just 2 days before this sectional game.
The game started with Bluefield scoring and getting on the scoreboard first. Kendan Trent didn’t take long to respond though as he put one in the back of the net less than 8 minutes after Bluefield got their first goal. Bluefield came into the game with energy though as they were able to make 2 unanswered goals before the half and had the Miners down, 3-1, going into the break.
Mingo Central has never been the team to just lay down and accept defeat though, They came out of the break with plenty of energy to get right back on track and they would come out of the half and very quickly make this game close again as they Trent was able to put another goal in for the Miners. Sadly for them though, This would be the last goal of the season for the Mingo Central Miners. Time went on and with 20 minutes left in the game, Mingo Central would have possession of the ball for the majority of it. Plenty of shots were taken, but it seemed like there was an invisible wall over the goal because none of them would go in. The Miners came up short and would end the game with a 3-2 loss and they would be eliminated from the Sectional Tournament, ending their season.
“While I’m not a stranger to soccer having played all 4 years of my high school career, this is my first time being on the coaching end as well as my first time coaching high school,” said Mingo Central coach Garrett Moore. “So it’s safe to say this past season came with a learning curve. With the help of coach (Brad) Rawls along with some of our athletes, I’ve picked up on a few things that will help in the future as well as some things that may not work as well. Overall, I think this was a successful season seeing as how we went 8-8 with both of us being new coaches stepping in and going coed a week into games being played. I can truly say after this year I’m proud of our athletes, I’m proud to be a member of the Mingo coaching community (Coach Jones and his crew has been awesome to work with regarding practice times and we all share a support for one another’s programs and wanting to see Mingo athletics thrive), and I’m already excited for next season!”
Bluefield would advance to the second round where they would be defeated by Shady Spring. Shady will now go head to head against Pikeview for the Sectional Championship and a spot in Regionals. This game will take place on October 21st at 6pm.
Photo Courtesy of Samantha Waine
