North Adams’ Jayden Reckers celebrates his overtime game-winning goal in the Devils’ 1-0 district semifinal win over Minford. (Photo by Tim Daulton)
Devils win first district title in boys soccer, topping Valley 3-1
With a 3-1 win over Lucasville Valley on October 25, the North Adams Green Devils captured the first boys soccer district championship in school history. (Photo by Tim Daulton)
By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
A fall full of firsts continued last week on the turf on the turf at Zane Trace High School and this time the “first” belongs to Coach Kirk Bunn and his North Adams Green Devils boys soccer squad. With Division V district tournament wins over Minford and Lucasville Valley, the Green Devils captured the first boys soccer district championship in school history. Though the North Adams boys program has been the picture of success for many seasons, this will be the first time that the Devils will be part of the “Sweet 16”.
This year’s version of the Green Devils has been built around a perfect combination of offensive firepower, an impregnable defense and solid play in the goal. That was the formula that got them two district wins last week as they set a school record for wins in a season, improving their overall mark to 17-2-1 as they head into regional action.
After disposing of Whiteoak in the district quarters, the Devils made their first trip to Zane Trace on October 22 for a district semis match up with the Minford Falcons, a team that had handed North Adams one of their two losses by a 3-2 score just two weeks earlier. With perhaps a bit of revenge on their minds,the Devils found themselves in a battle for survival with the Falcons. The first half was dominated by the defenses with the North Adams trio of Dalton Pence, Tyler Richendollar and Jaxon Baldwin turning away anything the Falcons tried to get started on offense. The second 40 minutes was more of the same and though the shots for both sides increased, nothing found the back of the net and an intense struggle went to the even more intense pressure of sudden death overtime.
With their seasons on the line, the overtime period went down to the 5:52 mark before the Devils made it a night to remember. Baldwin got control of the ball near the midfield stripe, maneuvered through Minford defenders and was able to get a through ball ahead to teammate Preston Call. Call dribbled towards the goal, luring the Minford keeper out to attack the ball. Call then sent a nifty crossing pass in the direction of the right post where the Devils’ Jayden Reckers was making a rush and with perfect timing, the ball found Recker’s foot and the North Adams junior placed it into the net, setting off a wild celebration on the Devils sideline as the thrilling 1-0 overtime victory propelled them into the district championship game.
That district championship contest took place on a chilly Saturday, October 25 evening and pitted the Green Devils against the Lucasville Valley Indians. The two teams had played to a 2-2 tie back on September 25, setting up what looked to be an evenly matched district title contest.
Coming off that emotional overtime win. the Green Devils were a bit more comfortable in the finals, claiming the school’s first boys soccer district title with a 3-1 victory. North Adams got first half goals from Colin Tolle and Jayden Reckers and got a second half insurance score from Jaxon Baldwin and seven saves from goalie Thaddeus Moore to punch their ticket to the Sweet 16.
“We knew going into the game that Valley was a solid team, having tied them in the regular season,” said coach Bunn. “That also meant that we knew what they were going to bring so we could prepare a strategy. But enough can’t be said as to how the boys played. Going farther in tournament play than any other North Adams boys team has gone before was one of our goals for the season. The boys knew that they had a chance to make school history and played with the determination and passion to get it done. The fan support has been tremendous. The boys recognize this, and it does help drive them. It feels like home field advantage no matter where we are playing. We are now concentrating on keeping this train rolling with a regional semi-final game against another solid team, South Webster. I feel that we match up with them very well.”
As coach Bunn mentioned, the opponent for his team in the regional semifinals will be the #1 seeded and 16-1-3 South Webster Jeeps, who took the district title with a 4-0 win over Lynchburg. North Adams and South Webster will kick off at 7 p.m. at Jackson High School on Wednesday, October 29. The winner there will move to the Elite Eight and play for a berth in the Final Four on Sunday, November 2, place and time to be announced.
