Gallery by Karen Akers
Thursday night the Charleston Catholic boys soccer team came to Raleigh County for a showdown with Shady Spring.
When the final horn sounded, the two-time defending Class AA/A state champions showed why they are poised for a run at the trifecta.
Scoring four goals in a span of six minutes, the Irish were too much for the hometown Tigers in an 8-1 win at H.B. Thomas Field.
“It took us a little bit, but when we started scoring, we put some stuff together,” Charleston Catholic head coach Joe Johns said.
After all-state basketball standout Jayallen Turner just missed on a blast over the crossbar in the fourth minute, Charleston Catholic struck like a bolt of lightning.
Ethan Bastin started the scoring barrage when he knocked in a header off a corner from Owen Snyder in the eighth minute.
Two minutes later, Mateo Lao took a pass from Turner and beat the keeper near post for a 2-nil advantage.
The lead went to 3-nil in the 13th minute on Bastin’s second goal of the match before Sam Delgra scored the fourth goal for the visitors, just over a minute later.
“It was a good start for us. We have had a bit of trouble early on scoring some goals so it was definitely encouraging that we scored some goals here,”Johns said. “It’s always tough to go on the road anywhere.”
Gio Cinco scored the fifth goal of the first half before Shady freshman Micah Smith made a nice defensive play and beat Irish keeper up top to cut the lead to 5-1.
“They are a phenomenal team that is well organized and well coached,” Shady Spring head coach Josiah Smith said. “Even when they cycled through the bench players, they have the same system and wanted to accomplish the same goals. They are a really tough team.”
Charleston Catholic (3-0-1) lost several starters from the 2022 state championship team, but fans would have never known that by the play on the field.
“Over the last couple of years we have developed our own style. We just want to see the guys play, develop and get better every day,” Johns said. “It doesn’t matter if you start or come off of the bench, we expect the standard to be there. We set that expectation and it is something we preach everyday.”
Bastin was not only scoring Thursday, he was setting his teammates up as well. Just over five minutes into the second half Bastin made a nice cross to Turner who found the back of the net uncontested.
“There were a few little pockets here and there where we looked sharp, but they exposed some things that we need to work on. They are a skilled team,” Smith said. “They possess the ball very well. They are disciplined and they go backwards very well. Each player on the whole team is comfortable with the ball on their feet.”
Bastin was the beneficiary on another set piece goal in the 48th minute, giving him a hat trick and Turner rattled in his second goal a minute later for the final margin.
Already a near impossible guard on the hardwood, Turner brings multiple weapons to the pitch as well.
“Jayallen is back playing his first year of soccer since middle school,” Johns said. “He is a competitor, that has great speed. Jayallen is a great athlete that can jump higher than anybody. He is a good kid and he fits the culture that we set. He is a great addition.”
Shady Spring is back in action Tuesday when it travels to sectional rival PikeView.
