Sanderson boys soccer
Sanderson forward Glenn Scott (10) scored one goal in Wednesday's 1-1 tie at Southeast Raleigh.
Sanderson, SE Raleigh split match
Wednesday night's 1-1 tie with Southeast Raleigh might not fall in the loss column, but watching the Sanderson boys soccer bench afterward, it would be hard to tell otherwise.
After senior Glenn Scott put the Spartans up 1-0 with a first-half goal, the Spartans seemed likely to notch its seventh victory of the season. And considering that the Bulldogs were winless entering the non-conference match, it seemed a safe bet to come to that conclusion.
But Southeast's Adrian Akabi-Davis defied logic, netting a goal with less than 10 minutes remaining in the match, pulling the teams even. The contest ended deadlocked at 1-1.
Following the match, Sanderson head coach Todd Worley blamed his squad's lack of energy as its downfall.
"We didn't play bad tonight, we just weren't enthused," he said. "And when you don't play inspired soccer, you're not going to win."
The coach explained that the Spartans — despite their vastly-talented roster — haven't jelled into a cohesive unit yet.
"I will put it like this, we have a lot of great players, but we're poor as a team right now," he said.
And while Sanderson's record is impressive — 6-0-1 through Wednesday — Worley believes the Spartans haven't been pushed enough, and it's made slowed their progression to become a better team.
"These guys have not been forced to play hard until tonight — and it wasn't until the end," he said. "So it will be interesting to see what we can do when we really have to get after it.
"But right now, we're not developing the way that we should. We are trying to. We do some good things at times. But we're not taking care of our side of the ball, and that's our problem."
Although the Spartans jumped out early on Southeast, they never tacked on a second goal to break the Bulldogs' spirits. Allowed to hang around, Southeast found a way to battle back into the game, forcing a tie.
"In soccer, if you are the underdog, and you are only trailing 1-0, sooner or later, you are going to get a squibber in the middle and pop it in," Worley said. "And we allowed to do that tonight. We didn't do the things we should have to put this game away.
With their Cap-7 Conference opener quickly approaching — Sanderson visits Wakefield Tuesday, Sept. 8 — the Spartans don't have much time to get fully back on track.
Besides Sanderson, the Wolverines are the only other Cap-7 squad without a loss this season.
Worley said the next couple days of practice will be crucial if the Spartans want to continue its unbeaten stretch into league play.
But the Spartans definitely have the pieces to build a conference contender, and Worley acknowledged Casey Francis and Nick Williams specifically for playing at a high level already this season.
Following Tuesday's match at Wakefield, Sanderson hosts Cardinal Gibbons Wednesday, Sept. 9, before returning to league action against Millbrook Sept. 14.
Following Wednesday night's match, Sanderson head coach Todd Worley praised senior Casey Francis' (2) play during the Spartans' early-season schedule.
