New Kent frustrates Jamestown for most of first half before falling 7-1

New Kent keeper Logan Deters (above) slides to smother the ball, preventing a shot by Jamestown's Lexico Gonzalez. Below, New Kent's Harrison Hunt (16) out-leaps Jamestown's John Henry for a header.

Alan Chamberlain photos

A solid performance enabled New Kent’s Trojans to hang with Jamestown’s powerful Eagles for most of the first half during Tuesday night’s soccer clash. But the Eagles eventually lived up to their reputation of being the area’s premier team, cashing in on seven of its 35 shots on the night to walk away with a 7-1 win.

“I think [Jamestown] thought they’d come in here, beat us up, and go home early,” said Trojan coach Keith Grant. “But we didn’t panic. We made passes and we made some runs. I’m happy with it.”

For the Trojans, the contest marked their second in as many days, coming off a 4-0 loss to Poquoson the night before. The hosts, however, exhibited no adverse effects.

“Sometimes you step up to the challenge,” Grant said. “We definitely played better. If we’d played that hard with that intensity last night, it would have been a whole lot closer game.”

Over the first 20 minutes, the Trojans shut out the Eagles. During that time span, goalie Logan Deters corralled six of his 17 saves on the night.

At the other end of the field, New Kent’s offense mounted attacks, first on a Kyle Claytor shot from the left side stopped by Eagle keeper John Salzman. Next, Josue Benitez and Alex Owens worked the ball past Eagle defenders, forcing Salzman to make a leaping save on Owens’ shot. Then Benitez launched a pair of long-range shots flagged down by the Eagle keeper.

Less than 19 minutes to go before halftime, Jamestown’s Ethan McGee broke the scoreless deadlock, hooking a shot off the Trojan goal’s left support and into the net. Four minutes later, Kevin Tripp’s throw-in found John Henry positioned for an easy score. Another friendly bounce off the goal support enabled Michael Meese to open a 3-0 halftime lead.

Jamestown added two more goals after the break before New Kent capitalized on a flurry of activity in front of the Eagle goal. Salzman knocked away Adam Caldwell’s open shot, but Claytor controlled the loose ball, punching in a close-range shot to narrow the deficit to 5-1.

New Kent, now 3-11, fired 15 shots at the Eagle goal.