The Cumberland County soccer team used a strong second-half effort late last week to post a 4-1 victory over a talented Rhea County squad.
The Jets drew first blood with a goal in the first half. But Cumberland County rallied for three goals in the final 40 minutes. Rhea County scored early in the period to claim the 4-1 victory.
“They definitely had our number the first 15 minutes of the game,” said Cumberland County Coach Cub Whitson. “They brought a lot of energy and intensity, and we were definitely on the back foot for a while.
“Our goalkeeper made some great saves to keep us in the game, and then the defense just kind of rallied around him and kind of sparked everybody to start picking it up and playing better. Then, we finally settled. I would say we got back to doing what we like to do and kind of ran away with it there toward the end in the second half.”
Cumberland County got on the board first when the Jets got their first goal when Uriel Jimenez blasted a shot into the back of the net to make it 1-0.
“I felt like a lot of it was work ethic,” Whitson said about Rhea County’s first half play. “They were winning a lot of 50-50 balls, or they were winning all the 50-50 balls. They were just playing dangerous long balls, and they had a very quick forward.
“We had a hard time reading the balls. Their speedy forward didn’t. He was judging them exactly right. And then they were just kind of overwhelming us with numbers and just energy. They’re taller than us and more athletic than us in a lot of our positions. Just their speed and their size and strength – it took us a while to get adjusted to that.”
And once the Jets adjusted, Cumberland County was fine. CCHS scored three goals in the second 40 minutes to secure the win.
Jaime Perez scored early in the second half to make it 2-0. Rhea County scored to cut the lead in half, but Cumberland County later got goals from Niki Azzani and Liam Fuentes to post the 4-1 final margin.
“We definitely played better in the second half, and Goalkeeper Ian Gargac played well off his line,” Whitson said. “We couldn’t necessarily play as direct as we were trying to do, so we tweaked that. And then, just defensively, we just talked about more pressure. I think it’s probably the best our press has looked all season was in the second half.
“We’ve got some very intelligent defenders. They’re not always the fastest or most athletic, but they’re intelligent. And that’s huge on the defensive side. They can read angles very well, and they play their guts out. They take a whole lot of pride in not getting scored on, not giving up shots even.”
Whitson said he thinks the key to his young defensive unit playing so well is a collective vision as to what the players want to accomplish. He’s also been impressed with the group’s leadership.
Cumberland County will close out the regular season at Livingston Academy April 22, host Bradley Central April 24, and then visit Cookeville May 1.
“I mean, we’re always constantly looking to improve,” Whitson said. “Our consistency, even though I do feel like it is getting better, we still lack a full 80 minutes of soccer. We’ve had some games that I feel like we’ve played 75 minutes of great soccer.”
“We’ve got to close it off with a full 80 minutes. So the biggest thing is just having the focus to finish off games and to keep the gas pedal down – don’t let off the gas. Then, you know, putting the ball in the back of the net. We’ve been scoring four or five goals the last few games, but we’ve also left a lot of goals on the field as well. I feel like we should be a bit more clinical.”