Nation Ford head coach Kenny Halas said his team “gave everything they had” in a 1-0 loss to Region 3-5A opponent Clover High School Tuesday night.
Halas said his team competed hard and defended well in the first region matchup of the season against a team that he said had more talented individual players.
Senior Nolan Pinti scored the lone goal in the 68th minute of Tuesday’s matchup, a cross that floated in from the far side, smacked off the inside of the post, and fell into the back of the net despite the best efforts of Nation Ford goalkeeper JJ Podlasek.
“The goal, it’s just one of those things,” Halas said. “I think we’re at the spot where we know who we are, what we need to do. We defended well and gave everything we had. We’re set up real well for region play.”
With the win, Clover improves to 10-1, while Nation Ford drops to 9-3-1 on the season.
Both teams forced corners in the opening minutes, but neither team made the opposing goalkeeper work too hard.
Senior defender Blake Harrill forced Podlasek into a necessary save in the 15th minute off a corner, but Harrill’s header hit the ground before it reached the goalmouth.
Senior Trenton Palumbo saw his right-footed effort from the top of the Nation Ford penalty box fly wide of Podlasek’s left-hand post a few minutes later.
Junior Noah Ashe gave Nation Ford its best chance of the night in the 25th minute when he split two defenders, ran in on goal, and was bundled over in the box, but the referee pointed to the corner flag rather than the penalty spot.
Nation Ford was pressured all second half. The Falcons were lucky not to concede five minutes after the halftime whistle. A Falcons defender was forced to deflect a shot off his own goal line when a Clover striker tried a flick-on shot off a corner, just seconds after Podlasek was forced into a diving save to his right.
Senior Grady Pierce had a decent chance of his own from point-blank range, but Podlasek quickly dived to his left to snuff out the chance.
Halas said his team worked hard to control the tempo and not allow Clover to play 1v1 soccer.
“When you give those guys space, they’ll make you pay a price,” he said. “We wanted to make ourselves more disciplined, and we did part of that. (Clover’s) more physical than what we are.”
Pinti provided the difference with the game’s only goal just 12 minutes before the final whistle. The Blue Eagles whipped in a cross to the back post, which caromed off the opposite post and went in to the net.
Halas praised his team for their efforts after the game.
“We don’t have a bunch of D1 player,” he said. “They’re all friends who work really hard together. They work and gel together… this group can compete.”
Nation Ford continues the region schedule with trips to Blythewood Friday, March 15 and Rock Hill Tuesday, March 19.
March 12 Roundup
The Catawba Ridge golf team shot a final round 316 in the Bengal Invitational. OT Mitchell led the team with a 74 and Hunter Warren shot a 75.
The Catawba Ridge softball team beat York 7-1 to improve to 2-0 in Region 3-4A play and 5-1 on the season. Audrey Wilson hit a home run in the win.
The Catawba Ridge boys’ soccer team beat York 7-0 to improve to 8-2 overall and 2-0 in Region 3-4A play.
The Fort Mill boys’ soccer team beat Blythewood 2-1 in overtime to improve to 5-4-1 overall and 1-0 in Region 3-5A play.
The Fort Mill softball team fell to Blythewood 13-3 to drop to 1-2 on the season and 0-1 in Region 3-5A play. Ashley Kirby and Vicki Lott each hit doubles and drove in a run in the loss.
The Nation Ford softball team beat Clover 4-0 allowing just one hit to improve to 5-1 on the season and 1-0 in Region 3-5A. Paizlei Ross went 2-3 with two RBIs in the win for the Falcons and got the win in the circle going four innings.
The Nation Ford girls’ soccer team lost to Clover 1-0 dropping them to 4-5 on the season and 0-2 in Region 3-5A.
The Nation Ford tennis team beat Rock Hill 5-1 to improve to 5-0 on the season and 3-0 in Region 3-5A.
