Gio Lopez and Sawyer Campbell socred lates goals in Eagles 2-1 win over CSAS on Saturday at Cleveland Classic.(Photo:GaryBolden/RCM)

Rhea County High School Soccer Opens Season 1-2 in Cleveland Classic

Rhea County Soccer traveled to Bradley County for 3 games on Thursday through Saturday at various sites in Bradley County in the Cleveland Classic. Eagles came away with big comeback win on Saturday to bring their season record to 1-2.

Thursday, March 6th, vs. Hixson Wildcats. Despite battling it out, the Eagles saw a deficit halftime score of 0-2.  The Eagles came out the second half more centered and held the Wildcats scoreless.   The Eagles even battled back with a goal to make it 2-1, however, a questionable off-sides call recanted the goal, final loss of 0-2.

Friday, March 7th, vs. Signal Mountain Eagles. SM came out strong and led RCHS with a halftime score of 0-1. Second half Rhea Eagles came out determined to even the odds, and despite a goal by Jackson Arnold, assisted by Ian Arnold, RCHS fell 4-1 to SM Eagles.

Saturday, March 8th- vs. CSAS Patriots(Chattanooga School of Arts and Science). The Eagles dominated control of the game, but at halftime the Eagles were down 0-1, with a PK being given to the Patriots off a hand-ball in the box. The Eagles battled back the entire second half, finally evening the score 1-1 with 4 minutes left in the game off a beautiful 20 yard shot by Gio Lopez. The Eagles received a corner kick with less than 2 minutes on the clock, which saw the ball bounce around inside the box until Sawyer Campbell took 2 touches on the ball and sliced it between 4 defenders into the open corner of the net. Eagles held off the Patriots for an exhilarating ending to the game of 2-1, proving to always finish strong and fight until the end, never giving up. 

Coach Justin Smith had this to say about the weekend of games, “ This was a good tournament for us-we saw lots of positives and lots of things to work on, which is what you want out of the preseason and early regular season games. We were excited to see some young guys step up and fill some important roles and were able to continue tweaking things here and there, as we are still trying to find our groove. Our coaches are excited about this group of guys and for what this season holds!”

by Audrey Norman