Tigers fill up the net in region win over Grenada
Dec. 14—SALTILLO — Saltillo gave Grenada's defense little chance to breathe Thursday night.
The Tigers fired 17 shots on goal and came away with a dominant 8-1 win in a Region 1-6A match. Five of those goals came in the first half, and that was exactly what coach Matthew Reeder wanted to see from his players.
"We wanted tonight for us not to be timid," Reeder said. "We wanted to be the aggressors and take chances, and the boys responded and did exactly what we asked them to do, and it resulted in us finding the back of the net."
Senior Weston Kingsley helped Saltillo (9-3, 5-1) get off to a good start. His pass into the box eventually found the foot of Ethan Ford, who knocked it in for a 1-0 lead in just the sixth minute.
Eight minutes later, Kingsley recorded a proper assist when his throw-in was tapped home by senior Enoch Caviness.
"We just crash the box, see back post, and hopefully somebody gets there," Kingsley said.
Sophomore Cooper Bingham scored off his own rebound in the 20th minute for a 3-0 advantage, and then Caviness fired a 30-yard rocket that caromed off the left post and into the net in the 23rd minute.
"It was a really good shot. It was one of the best ones I've ever seen him take," Reeder said. "He was our man of the match tonight."
Junior Thaxton Weems got in on the act when he dribbled through the defense for an easy put-away to make it 5-0 at halftime.
Grenada (6-9, 0-6) finally got on the board with Cristian Lumas' goal in the 59th minute. The Tigers answered moments later when a Weems pass found Ahmad Sulaiman for a 6-1 edge.
Kingsley got a goal of his own off a Bingham assist in the 67th minute.
"Him at that holding mid position helps us control the middle," Reeder said of Kingsley. "He's played center back for us for several years now, but his ability to step in and help us maintain possession and put the ball in dangerous areas definitely helps.
"We've got several other guys up there that if we can get them the ball in dangerous spots, they have chances to score, and that happened tonight."
Bingham triggered the mercy rule in the 69th minute when he beat Grenada's goalkeeper to the ball and punched it in.
The Chargers managed only three shots on goal, all in the second half.
(G) Saltillo 7, Grenada 0: Riley Dickens scored three goals to lead Saltillo (11-1, 6-0). O.J. Miller also had a goal to go with three assists.
