PORTLAND Austin Blansett’s early goal provided the spark, and the White House High School boys soccer team reeled off five first-half goals in a 7-0 rout at Portland on Friday evening.
Blue Devil sophomore Brady Briley had his throw-in from the left sideline bounce across the box, and Blansett’s bicycle kick sliced inside the left post less than three minutes into the match.
White House High senior Matthew Smith plays a ball upfield during first-half action.
“I do that kind of stuff a lot in practice,” Blansett – a junior outside midfielder – said. “I’ve always wanted to do in a real game. The chance was there. I just went for it.
“It was pretty awesome. I was super excited. I was screaming.”
Briley provided three first-half assists, with senior defender Owen Clark one-touching his corner kick into the net 10 minutes later.
White House High sophomore Ethan Smith makes up a run up the sideline during first-half action.
Clark also converted off of a rebound opportunity in the first half, and senior Mark Lees and sophomore Corey Curtis scored before halftime.
White House High senior Mark Lees dribbles upfield as Portland senior Bryce Stone converges during first-half action.
“Once we get up a couple of goals, we try to calm down and make it a team thing,” Blansett said.
Curtis scored again early in the second half – thanks to freshman Jacob Harper’s assist – and senior Danny Zeidan’s late goal came off of sophomore Connor Hollis’ assist.
Both Clark and Curtis are starting defenders.
“That’s the second game in a row where we had a three-goal difference, and we put the back line up front and shifted the forwards to the back … and we didn’t miss a beat,” White House head coach Mark Lamberth said. “We preach when people come in (to the program) that we don’t have strikers and defenders. We have soccer players. That’s really good to see.”
Portland High freshman Nathan Brown plays a first-half throw-in in front of White House sophomore Ethan Smith.
White House (10-2-3) posted its seventh shutout, and the Blue Devils have won the last five meetings against the Panthers and lead the all-time series by a 21-5 margin.
Portland (1-9) lost its ninth consecutive match since opening the season with a 3-0 victory over visiting Westmoreland.
Portland High junior Devon Rudder maintains possession amidst pressure from White House junior Josh Dunlap.
Reach Craig Harris at charris@mtcngroup.com or at 615-575-7138. Follow him on Twitter @HarrisGNESports.