Bryson City (Special to the Maroon Devils Network) – The Maroon Devils Men’s Soccer Team hosted the Highlands Highlanders on Friday night in a rescheduled game. Highlands and Swain came into the game tied for first in the Smoky Mountain conference. Going into the game Highlands was ranked number 6 in the state at the 1A level and Swain is ranked 19th. It was a game where the Devils would take 28 shots on goal. The most they have taken all season.
The Devils would get on top just five minutes into the game when Sophomore Matthew Gray would find Senior Chase Burrell for a goal. With 17 minutes left in the half Junior Gavin Lanning would find Gray for a goal. The Devils would add one more in the second half when Sophomore Matthew Gray would find Sophomore Landon Matz for a goal. The Devils would finish up with the 3-0 win. “Overall we were happy with how well we moved the ball around the field. We truly struggled with finishing our shots though.” said Head Coach Scott Cline. “We had numerous opportunities and just could not finish. Highlands goalkeeper played a big role in that, but we also were just taking some unbalanced shots.”
On defense Senior Anthony Reyes led the way with 15 clears. He was followed by Senior Zachary Cline with 13, Senior Booth Bassett with 12, and Juniors Lucas and Levi Trantham each with 8. In goal Senior Noel Wolf had 7 Saves and Sophomore Cameron Phillips had 2 Saves. The Player of the Game for the Devils was Lucas Trantham. “Lucas did a great job pushing up and helping out on the offense and also getting back and helping on defense.” said Cline.