KNIGHTS OVERCOME EARLY ONE GOAL DEFICIT IN WIN OVER NORTHSIDE CHRISTIAN ACADEMY, NC; 5-2 SCORE; 3-2-0 Overall, 

0-0 Foothills Athletic Conference  

CHARLOTTE, NC- August 20^th, 2019 – Battling somewhat damp and humid conditions, missing juniors Braden Whitford (quad), Dylan Morrison (groin) and Ben Vazquez (back) and without the services of freshman Michael Steinert the Knights took care of business. Steinert suffered what was perceived to be a potential concussion during pre-game warm ups and was forced to stay out due to concussion protocol. At the time of this press release Steinert’s mom Kathleen gave a thumbs up on his current condition. Steinert will be seen by the team athletic trainer, Nick, prior to Thursday’s practice.

The Knights, who entered the game on a 2-game winning streak fell behind early in the road contest just 5 minutes into play. However, sophomore scoring sensation Braden Runyon received a corner kick from junior Garrison Mullis to tie things at 1-1 at the 10-minute mark. Just one minute later Northside would receive a PK and found the back of the net to move ahead of the visiting Knights from Hickory and take a 2-1 lead. Runyon would strike again, this time at the 17-minute mark on a sensational near post cross from junior Hugo Fournie and the Knights would move ahead 2-2. Fournie wanted in on the scoring column and took a nice pass from Mullis at the 24-minute mark giving the Knights a 3-2 lead. Not to be outdone, sophomore Stephen Frye received an on-point cross from Runyon at minute 39 to secure a 4-2 advantage heading into halftime. 

Mullis, who earlier was credited with an assist was the only score of the second half, securing a 5-2 victory to move the Knights winning streak to three. Eight grader Cade Walls, younger brother of junior goalie Nate Walls saw action in his second straight contest. The younger Walls was called upon to fill a spot on the varsity roster as several team members recover from injury. He played valuable minutes providing a much-needed rest for several of the players throughout the game. 

 Junior Caleb McMurray was the recipient 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. McMurray, who anchors the HCA back line, was poised throughout the contest controlling the games tempo and making good decisions on the defensive side. 

The Knights travel to Rock Hill, SC on Monday August 26^thfor a 4:00 contest against Westminster Catawba Christian School, a 2A member of the Metrolina Athletic Conference (MAC).