The North Surry boys soccer team redeemed a loss earlier this season by defeating Atkins 2-1 on Senior Night.
In what coach Eric Jessup called a great team win, the Greyhounds capitalized on goals from Will Danley and Hector Hernandez to outlast the Camels.
“It was a great game and a great atmosphere to honor our seniors,” Jessup said.
Seven Greyhound players were scheduled to play their final home game inside Charles Atkins stadium Monday night: Kaymon Hodges, James Jessup, Connor Nichols, Tristen Shore, McKinnley Nixon, Arturo and Luis Valle.
Due to a home match against Surry Central being rained out earlier this season, the Hounds actually have one more home match that will take place Thursday, March 11. Coach Jessup wanted to be sure his senior players were honored, so he kept the festivities scheduled for Monday just to be safe. And what a night it was.
“I don’t think it could’ve ended any better for these guys,” Coach Jessup said. “They were pretty pumped up when the final whistle blew. They’ve played well the last several games and it was big to get a win. The boys really needed that.”
The Western Piedmont 2A Conference’s abbreviated schedule hasn’t done anyone any favors. It took North a few games to really discover its identity on the field, and in a 10-game season there’s no time to waste.
His team is playing at a high level and has competed against some quality teams, but now the season is coming to a close.
A big part of Coach Jessup’s game plan for the second half of the season was to get better every game and show improvement when you play a team for the second time.
This is exactly what the Greyhounds have done.
After being blown out in road games against Forbush and North Forsyth, two teams that have only lost one match combined all season, North Surry welcomed both to toast and came within striking distance of pulling the upset. The Greyhounds also backed up a win over West Stokes with a repeat performance the second-time around.
When North Surry traveled to Atkins on Feb. 10, Coach Jessup left thinking it was a winnable game. This added even more pressure to Monday’s Senior Night showdown.
North Surry struck first with a goal in the 22nd minute. Will Danley, who Coach Jessup has been working with on finishing, redirected a corner kick into the back of the net to put North up 1-0.
Atkins responded with a goal from Devon Burrell in the 45th minute.
“Kaymon Hodges man-marked him for us and did a fantastic job,” Coach Jessup said. “Kaymon was right there and somehow a ball just squirted between him and Jair Gonzalez. It was nobody’s fault, the kid from Atkins just made a really good play on the ball.”
In some of North Surry’s recent games, the Hounds have kept the score close until the final few minutes. The Greyhounds were faced with a similar situation Monday as the score sat at 1-1 going into the final 10 minutes.
This time, it was North Surry that would net the game-winning goal.
In the 71st minute, Edwin Villegas chipped a free kick near midfield over the Camel defense. Greyhound sophomore Hector Hernandez beat the defense and headed the free kick past the Atkins keeper.
North Surry’s defense did its part late in Monday’s game by keeping the lead alive. Coach Jessup said goalkeeper Tristen Shore made three game-winning saves in the final 10 minutes, which was huge for the team.
“Luckily tonight we were able to finish it out,” Coach Jessup said.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com