Match Recap: Hickory Christian Escapes Conference Victory with Close Win Against Statesville Christian 2-1

Hickory, NC – October 6, 2020 – The Hickory Christian Academy’s boys’ soccer team (7-1, 5-0) came out on top of a classic rivalry battle for a 2-1 victory against conference foe Statesville Christian on Tuesday at Neill Clark.

Hickory Christian would score a goal in each half and limit Statesville Christian offensively to secure a first-place finish in the Foothills Athletic Conference.

The Knights started off the scoring at minute thirty-two on junior Braden Runyan’s goals off the assist from junior Stephen Frye. Runyan poked it in with a beautiful left-footed finish. It would be the only goal of the first half as both teams struggled offensively to put the ball in net. The Lions packed the back line, frustrating the high-powered attack of the Knights. On the season the Knights were averaging 4.5 goals per contest. HCA’s senior all-state player Garrison Mullis was not available for the game and may have had an impact on the offensive rhythm.

The Knights tool a 1-0 advantage into the halftime break.

Half number two would closely resemble half number one. The Knights would strike at the 49^th minute as senior Dylan Morrison went to the right and used a great angle to shoot back towards goal and slipped one by Statesville’s keeper to take a 2-0 lead. The Lions would answer with a goal at minute sixty-three but didn’t threaten for the remaining 17 minutes until the final whistle sounded, resulting in a 2-1 Knights victory.

Senior Wyatt King and junior Ian Benfield were co-recipients of the HCA Battle Ball, an HCA tradition after each game awarded to the player with the best effort, attitude, performance and all-around impact on the outcome of the contest. King, this year’s version of a swiss army knife, continued his all-around unselfish play. King has been called upon all season long to play multipole positions and he has responded beautifully. Benfield, a talented junior starting to hit his peak on the defensive side, held the Lions attack in check all day and transitioned the ball to the Knight’s offense with precise execution. His understanding of the game and what is required of his position has had huge implications on the Knight’s success.

In the post-game activities, the newbies (new players to the team) performed the traditional newbie play in front of teammates, family and classmates. Snow White was the play of choice. This year’s version of the newbie play featured newcomers Cade Walls (his 2^nd newbie play performance as he was called up at the end of last season), Austin Sparks, Brock Bridle, Luke Alrutz, Zach Clark and Hampton Query.

Chuck Walls, dad to senior goalkeeper Nate Walls and sophomore Cade Walls, did a standout job wearing his mask in the stands.

Looking ahead, the Knights host their final conference game as they battle University Christian on Thursday and then finish out the regular season hosting Tabernacle Christian on Friday. Both contests are at Neill Clark beside the HCA campus.