Sanderson boys soccer
Sanderson sophomore Dylan Ejlali (6) pushes the ball upfield during Wednesday's 6-2 win over Wake Forest-Rolesville. With the victory, the Spartans improved to 7-2-1 in conference play.
Scott, Sanderson surge past WF-R
Although the Sanderson soccer team eventually pulled away from Wake Forest-Rolesville Wednesday night 6-2 — the Cougars are still winless in league play; at 7-2-1, the Spartans are quite the opposite — the contest once again proved there is no easy victory in the Cap-7 Conference.
Playing without several key contributors, including J.P. Rafferty and Jackson Parker, the Spartans watched WF-R stake a 1-0 lead midway through the first half.
While it wasn't that Sanderson didn't have its opportunities to score early, too, the squad just couldn't find the back of the net.
"We had chances all night long, but we kept missing and we got frustrated," Sanderson head coach Todd Worley said. "We kept them in the game a little bit, and when you do that — when you don't take care of your business — it can come back to haunt you."
Sanderson finally found the right combination as Casey Francis gave a perfect feed to Glenn Scott, who hit the ball in midair and deflected it over the WF-R keeper. The score in the 31st minute tied the game at 1-1.
The Spartans didn't wait long to break the deadlock.
Just 29 seconds later, Scott raced past the Cougar defense and tallied a second score.
Check out the highlights from Wednesday's match.
The Spartans took the 2-1 advantage into halftime, but WF-R didn't lay down, scoring in the 37th minute to again draw the teams even at 2-2.
But five minutes later, Taylor Wyatt's free kick nearly slipped into goal, and teammate Sam Henderson rushed in and headed the ball into the WF-R net.
Recently sidelined because of a concussion, Henderson just got back on the field earlier this week, Worley said. "Although he hasn't played a lot, he put together a very nice game tonight," the coach explained.
The score stayed 3-2 for the next 22 minutes until the Spartans finally found their rhythm, notching three goals in the game's final 6:42.
After drawing a penalty kick, Scott converted, kicking the ball right as the WF-R keeper dove left. It was Scott's third goal of the game, giving him a hat trick for the second consecutive game.
It should be noted Nick Williams gave a beautiful lead-in pass, setting up Scott's one-on-one opportunity, which led to the penalty call.
In the 78th minute, Francis nailed his own goal, nailing the corner of the net. Scott assisted on the score.
The game's most remarkable goal came in the final 92 seconds as the Cougars failed to clear the ball and Wyatt connected from near midfield — almost 50 yards away — on a long goal.
"Taylor's brother was just like that, too," Worley said. "Both of them can strike the ball from long distance and are very accurate, too.
"It was a nice play as Taylor noticed what was going on."
Considering the Spartans' jumbled lineup due to injuries, illnesses, etc, the coach lauded his team's performance, especially the team's depleted backfield.
"I was pretty pleased with our play," Worley said. "But we also missed too many opportunities.
"We made the game too hard. But I give credit to Wake Forest-Rolesville, they played well."
In its final two contests of the conference schedule, Sanderson (14-2-3) hosts Enloe Monday, Oct. 19, and travels to Broughton, Wednesday, Oct. 21.
