Cavaliers take out frustrations on Diamond Hornets

Story and photos byMike Maddock

Lower Richland's Michael Allison (r) goes for the block against Richland Northeast's Jacob O'Grady. Allison had over a dozen saves for the Diamond Hornets. O'Grady scored two goals for the Cavaliers. The good news for the Lower Richland Diamond Hornets is that goalkeeper Michael Allison had over a dozen saves in their game against the visiting Richland Northeast Cavaliers Tuesday, March 21. The bad news is the Cavaliers had almost 40 shots on goal and cruised to a 17-0 victory.

The undermanned Diamond Hornets didn't cross midfield until the four-minute mark of the first half. Part of their defensive strategy ap-peared to be to catch the Cavaliers offsides as often as possible. It worked occasionally, but more often Allison found himself alone in a sea of breakaway orange jerseys. Despite his best efforts, no one could be expected to stop the barrage of fast breaks and uncontested shots the Cavaliers unleashed on him.

Richland Northeast head coach Rodney Summers was happy and sympathetic. "LR is a little down, but our guys have been on that end for the last four years. Our region is tough, and we're excited to get a win."

Richland Northeast's Stephen Wilson (l) and Lower Richland's Jonathan Blocker battle for the ball. Summers has reason to be sympathetic. Since entering region play, the Cavaliers have been outscored by Spring Valley, Irmo, and Ridge View by a combined score of 10-0. Such struggles can be expected from a team that only graduates three players this year.

This game with Lower Richland may have come just in time for the young Cavaliers as they travel to Dutch Fork Friday, March 24 to face the Silver Foxes who have been ranked as high as #2 in the state.

As for Lower Richland, Coach Jovan Brdarski can be proud his team never quit. Despite never being in the game and having only one substitute, the Diamond Hornets continued to play hard. Goalkeeper Allison continued to throw his body in front of Cavalier shots through to the final whistle.

Richland Northeast's Amir Abdulaziz (l) takes a shot while Lower Richland's Jamal Jones closes in. Abdulaziz scored one goal for the Cavaliers. Richland Northeast's Manuel Leon (front) heads the ball off a corner kick pass Lower Richland's Zachary Dunn. Leon scored four goals for the Cavaliers. Richland Northeast's Chang Kim runs the sideline.