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Maroon Devil James Sanchez battles it out with a Highlander in the home game Monday.
The Swain High soccer team hosted the Highlands Highlanders on Monday night in a tough conference matchup. The Highlanders came into the game undefeated in conference play tied for first place with Blue Ridge and one game ahead of the Maroon Devils.
Just three minutes into the game the Devils connected on seven straight passes that started with the goalkeeper Cameron Phillips and finished 120 yards down the field when Matthew Gray found the back of the net for the goal. Senior Gavin Rowland got the assist. For the next 77 minutes it was a defensive standoff between the Highlanders and Devils with Swain taking the 1-0 win.
“We knew going into this season and into this game that Highlands was going to be one of the toughest teams in the conference. Our players came out ready to play tonight. Our ball movement continues to improve as the season goes along,” Head Coach Scott Cline said. “Our players have very specific goals for this season and continue to work towards those goals.”
On the defensive side Canon Helpman led the way with 19 clears/steals. He was followed by Brendan Lanning with 16, McClane Whorton with 8, and Gavin Rowland and Mason Devine with 6. In goal Cameron Phillips recorded 25 goalkeeper saves. The Player of the Game for the Devils was Cameron Phillips.
“Cameron did an amazing job in goal. He kept us in the game with some of his great saves. He played a very consistent game,” Cline said.
The Maroon Devils move to 5-1 in conference play. They are now tied for second with Highlands and one game behind Blue Ridge. Blue Ridge and Highlands were scheduled to play on Wednesday. All three teams will play each other one more time. On Wednesday the Maroon Devils traveled to Murphy to take on Tri-County.