HENDERSONVILLE The White House High School boys soccer team came up 2:25 short of its fifth consecutive shutout but held on for a 2-1 win at Merrol Hyde Magnet in Tuesday evening’s non-district match to claim its 11th consecutive win.
Merrol Hyde Magnet senior goalkeeper Nicholas Goldberg makes a save as he collides with White House junior forward Josh Dunlap during second-half action.
“A 2-1 win against a quality program, we’re satisfied,” said White House head coach Mark Lamberth, whose team started the game with three starting defenders out of the lineup (two due to injuries and one due to illness).
Sophomore Seth Bumbalough was the only starter on the back line for White House.
“He took the reins and was a great leader tonight,” Lamberth said.
Bumbalough added, “Somebody had to step up. I was the one. (It) starts with a solid back line. The midfielders get back and help out. It’s a solid team effort, nd we’ve got a solid goalie (senior Logan Trimmer) back there.”
White House senior Caleb Scholl (5) clears the ball away from Merrol Hyde Magnet junior forward Austinn Martin during the first half.
Sophomore midfielder Brady Briley put White House on the scoreboard with 21:11 left in the first half with a shot from approximately 25 yards out into the corner of the net.
Senior forward Mark Lees added a second goal for White House (13-2-3) with 18:02 remaining on a penalty kick.
Merrol Hyde Magnet (7-4) finally cracked the White House defense with 2:25 left in the match as junior defender Connor Dunn headed a corner kick from classmate Josh Hayward into the back of the net. The Hawks kept pushing in the final minutes but couldn’t net the equalizer.
Merrol Hyde Magnet eighth-grade forward Dane McBee plays a bouncing ball in front of White House High freshman Jacob Harper
“They scored a goal and figured out (that) we can be in this game,” Merrol Hyde Magnet head coach Jim Carr said of his team. “If they played the 80 minutes like the last three, that’s a different matchup.”
Merrol Hyde Magnet senior forward Alan Hencey (18) dribbles away from White House freshman Jacob Harper during first-half action.
Both teams will start district tournament action on Monday. White House will host the winner of the Forrest/Community match at 6 p.m. in District 9 A-AA action.
Merrol Hyde Magnet will host the District 8 A-AA Tournament, facing Macon County at 7 p.m. on Monday.