Rhea County Eagles Soccer Takes field for last time in 2024.(Photo:MindySmith)

Walker Valley Wins 5-0 To End Eagles Season. The Eagles season ends with a record of 9-8-1

The Eagle’s season ended in a heartbreaking manner on Tuesday, May 7th.  They traveled to Walker Valley for a “win-or-go-home” district playoff game.  The Eagles had a game plan but still started off the game minus 2 starters with injuries, junior Elijah Anderson, known for his bulldog aggressiveness in the midfield and senior Malik Cooper, a defensive back, known for his sprints and aggressive pressure on ball.

The Eagles still worked the ball effectively in the first half, putting pressure on the Mustang’s goalie, in turn frustrating the Mustangs, for the first 40 minutes of play.  The Eagles were relentless in their drives up, corner kicks, throw-ins, and pressure to put a ball in the net in the first half. Senior Sean Norman, an All-Conference player and starting Varsity forward since his freshman year, had a beautiful bicycle kick off a corner, that almost landed in the net, but unfortunately, the Mustangs had a plethora of defenders inside the 6 box and managed to clear the ball out for their goalie, who was not in position to stop the kick. 

The Eagles kept the Mustang drives to a minimum, with the crowd of Eagle supporters behind them, cheering them on.  Around 15 minutes into the game, one of the few Mustang drives ended up in a foul inside the box, same scenario as the last match-up these two teams had a couple weeks before with a late body contact on a player.  Eagle’s goalie extraordinaire, Wes Robinson, was ready this time.  He knew the shot direction from the last time this had happened and now dove to his left instead of his right, blocking the shot and revving his team and the crowd of green to their feet! A beautiful block and redemption from the last PK shot that ended differently weeks before!  The Eagles kept the pressure up, still looking for the back of the net, but an outside drive from a former Rhea Countian player, Graham Delmotte, was not stopped in time, and his shot outside the 18 box arched into the far upper 90 corner of the net, a near impossible shot to deflect, so Mustangs were on the board 1-0 with 13 minutes left to play in the first half. This deflated the Eagles a little bit, but they still kept up the offensive pressure, trying to even the score up before halftime.

Another lapse in the defensive pressure in the middle of the field was all it took for Delmotte to again handle a cross into the middle and plant it in the back of the net with only a few minutes left in the half to make the score 2-0 for the Mustangs. Right before halftime, one of the Mustang’s player’s cockiness and poor sportsmanship ended in a yellow card, thus ending the half with the only card given out for the game.  The second half was again filled with action, but the Eagles struggled to find their stride and a few more lapses of defensive pressure in the middle of the field allowed the Mustangs to add 3 more goals throughout the second half.  The final score ended 5-0 for the Mustangs. 

Head Coach Justin Smith had this to say following the game, “It’s never fun for a season to be cut short in the first round of the tournament.  All the respect to Walker Valley, who was led by a strong group of seniors this year.  Nevertheless, we are proud of our guys and the work they have put in! They battled for 80 minutes despite the score, including an incredible save from Wes Robinson on a PK and many of our field players working coast to coast for nearly the whole game.  I love to see them complete like they did.  We love this group of seniors and are excited to see where they go from here.”

The Eagle’s seniors are: #1 Sean Norman; #2 Malik Cooper; #6 Ulises Lopez; #10 Levi Walton; #12 Andrew Morgan; #22 Garret Sullivan; #26 Adrian Moreno; #27 Angel Melchor; #74 Dima Hamilton; #77 Luke Parker.  The Eagles ended with a record of 9-8-1.  The first day of their tryouts for the upcoming 2025 season (2nd day of tryouts will be in Feb. of 2025) will be May 23rd from 8-10am, and those interested must bring a current physical, cleats, sneakers, shin guards, and water with them.

RCHS soccer camp will also be from June 3-6th from 8:30-12:30pm for kids ages 5-14 years old (just finished 8th grade).  The camp cost is $85 and includes breakfast and lunch every day, along with a camp shirt, with all activities taking place at RCHS. Please check out Rhea Co Soccer Facebook page for more information and to register your child today. 

Audrey Norman

Photography by Audrey Norman.