Grady Eckart scores two goals for Blue Jay soccer team
· Yahoo Sports
Sep. 15—JAMESTOWN — The Jamestown High School boys soccer team has a perfect record — at Charlotte and Gordon Hansen Stadium.
The Blue Jays took it to Legacy Tuesday night, defeating the Sabers 2-1. The win is the Jays' second-straight and puts the team's record at 2-6-2 while Legacy dropped to 1-5-3. Head coach Brandi Harty and her crew will be back on the pitch on Friday in Dickinson. The game is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.
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"We knew that this was going to be a tough match ... so our whole thought process is — we need to bring energy," Harty said. "We did really, really well in the first half with controlling the play, finding our wingers, attacking the in-line, and that was exactly what we asked them to do.
"At half, we talked, we didn't make too many adjustments and they continued with that energy," she said. "They played a full 80 minutes which is what we are asking for."
After a scoreless 24 minutes, Grady Eckart broke the ice with a header off a Carson Hatch corner kick. The goal kept Legacy scrambling for the remainder of the half.
"Normally I make a run in but this time I decided to stay in because I knew Carson was going to play it long," Eckart said. "There were two guys in front of me and I knew I was going to go over them so I jumped and I thought it was going to go over the bar but it went right into the back of the net and I was so excited to see it go in."
Legacy got on the board by way of a penalty kick in the 50th minute. Nolan Healy buried the shot to knot up the score at one apiece but a tied score didn't sit well with Eckart.
In the 55th minute, the senior found an opening along the seam then sent the ball into the back of the goal to put his team up 2-1.
"That one was a ball played over the top and I was like, I love this because I was one-on-one with a defender and I knew he was going to come 50/50 challenge me so I kept taking it down line," Eckart said. "I cut it back and then when I went to fake-shoot it, I knew the defender was going to step, I cut it in, then it was just me and the goal. I played it to the left and it was awesome from there."
Eckart, one of the Jays' nine seniors, is the leading scorer for Jamestown with five goals on the year.
"His will and drive to play and win right now is absolutely amazing," Harty said. "He just has it in him. ... He was determined. He wanted to win and that is what happened."
Eckart didn't get the win all on his own. The senior gave freshman Liam Becker and junior Noah Lorenz a shout out for their performances on the pitch.
"Noah has been so fun to play with," Eckart said. "It's just been a confidence thing for him. He's a phenomenal player. If you get the ball to his feet and he keeps connecting it with me, it's awesome. ... Liam — that little kid, he's always on the field and he's always getting the ball everywhere he can, even with his small size."
Eckart, Becker and Lorenz — along with the rest of the Jays — are hoping to keep the win streak going through the back half of their season.
"Our biggest goal is to beat the teams that we've lost to before," Harty said. "We have individual and team goals for every game that we are trying to accomplish and if we achieve those, that will make the team better. This is a really big step for this team. Two games in a row is huge."
Jamestown 2, Legacy 1
LEG 0 1 — 1
JHS 1 1 — 2
Scoring
First half
1. JHS, Grady Eckart (Carson Hatch), 24th minute.
Second half
2. LEG, Nolan Healy, 50th minute; 3. JHS, Eckart (Noah Lorenz), 55th minute.
Goalie saves: Legacy, James Erickson, 5; Jamestown, Evan Harty, 3.
Shots on goal: Legacy 4; Jamestown 6.