New Kent rallies in soccer classic, beats Colonial Heights 4-3

New Kent's Adam Caldwell (right) and Colonial Heights' Brenden Hise (left) battle it out for possession of the ball.

Robb Johnson photo

In a game that consisted of two halves, New Kent’s boys’ soccer team fell behind 3-1 in the first half to the visiting Colonial Heights’ Colonials. But three second half goals by the hosts Trojans were enough to keep the team undefeated as they pulled off a 4-3 victory in Monday night’s contest.

The first half was rough for New Kent as they were unable to adjust to the speed of the Colonials. Three minutes into the contest, Cheikh Diop raced down the field and converted an easy goal. Less than a minute later, New Kent was able to respond with a goal from Spencer Gilland.

But as the back and forth play continued, the Trojans suffered two more lapses on defense. Colonial Heights added two additional goals with pure hustle and took a 3-1 lead into the halftime intermission.

Momentum swung in favor of the hosts after a great save by Trojan goalkeeper Logan Deters. The composure and leadership trickled through teammates, with Alex Owens receiving a spectacular assist from Fernando Pena for a score. Pena would be on the receiving end of a pass from Gilland to knot the score at three apiece with 16:40 remaining in the contest.

The Trojans kept the ball in their territory for a majority of the second half, thwarting all attempts by Colonial Heights to register a shot on goal. The efforts paid off as Colby Brooks converted what would amount as the game-winning goal with three minutes remaining, completing the Trojan comeback.

After the contest, New Kent head coach Keith Grant reflected on the team’s win after trailing early in the contest.

“We were down tonight and they [Colonial Heights] overwhelmed us in the first half,” he said. “We were losing 50/50 balls in the first half.

“I told the guys to calm down as we have been slow starters in the past,” Grant continued. “That hurt us in the past but in the second half, we calmed down and played our game.”

Grant also credits the unselfishness of his team during the match that keeps them undefeated at 3-0 on the year.

“I tell the guys that sometimes an assist is better than a goal,” the coach added. “You have to trust your teammates to be in a spot and when you have that then you have a team that plays well together every time.”