Tunstall boys soccer holds off Patrick County

DRY FORK — Bryant Thurman answered Patrick County’s tying goal by rifling a shot into the back of the net only 90 seconds later as Tunstall staved off the Cougars 3-1 in a Piedmont District game Tuesday.

Tunstall (8-2-1, 3-2 Piedmont) moved above the .500 mark in the district for the first time this season and pulled to within a single victory of matching its win total of a year ago.

“We set some goals at the beginning of the year. We want to improve our placement from last year when we were third in the district, we wanted to make sure we were above .500 — last year we were 9-9 — and … the final goal is simply to make regionals and maybe have the opportunity to host a team here at our field,” Tunstall coach Eddy Lloyd said. “Things are getting in line now I think.”

All four goals came in an explosive second half after the teams entered intermission tied at 0-0.

Patrick County’s Pierre Scales tied the game at 1-1 just after Tunstall missed a free kick that sailed and curved sharply thanks the heavy wind. Tunstall goaltender Kevin Hill took a bad angle on Scales, who fired a laser past the keeper to knot the game.

Only 90 seconds later, Thurman blasted one past Patrick County (4-8-1) keeper Ethan Mordue, who made 19 saves, for what proved to be the game winner.

“I don’t know why our goalie didn’t come out a little bit quicker on that ball,” Patrick County coach James Wagner said. “He kind of sat back there and came out at the last minute and it got by him and in the net and that was pretty much it.”

Carlos Manzanares added a goal off a high, arcing kick to ice the game with about 12 minutes remaining.

Zack Rice put Tunstall on the board first, scoring about seven minutes after the break.

After the game, players quickly scurried to their cars, having sat through the entire girls’ game that preceded their contest despite the unseasonably chilly weather.

“That’s one of those things you can’t control, and it was the same for both teams,” Lloyd said, addressing the playing conditions. “It does change the game a little bit — the wind in particular — and it’s still coming pretty hard right now. We lost the coin toss, we wanted to get on this end in the first half and we didn’t, and that may have had something to do with us not scoring.

“I thought we came out in the second half and put a lot of pressure on them.”

Tunstall 3, Patrick County 1
Patrick County 0 1 –  1
Tunstall 0 3 –  3
Goals: Zack Rice (T) unassisted, 47th minute; Pierre Scales (PC) unassisted, 58th minute; Bryant Thurman (T) unassisted, 60th minute; Carlos Manzanares (T) unassisted, 68th minute.
Shots: Tunstall 22-8
Corners: Tunstall 2-1
Saves: Kevin Hill (T) 7, Ethan Mordue (PC) 19
Records: Tunstall (8-2-1), Patrick County (4-8-1)