Watkins’ OT goal pushes Clover past Fort Mill

Just when the thrill of victory turned into the agony of defeat, did the Fort Mill boys’ soccer team realize what happened as they lost 1-0 in overtime to the Clover Blue Eagles and fell to 0-2 in Region IV.

Clover’s Adam Watkins scored the winning goal. The win boosted the Blue Eagles’ overall record to Clover 5-3-1

It was the second straight region game Fort Mill lost by a score of 1-0. The first onw was against Northwestern.

“We didn’t play that well against Northwestern,” said Fort Mill head coach Sean Fielden. “But we outplayed them (Clover). This is one of the most demoralizing games we had.”

In a much anticipated region matchup, Clover and Fort Mill met on the soccer pitch for the first time this season. They traded possessions in the early going while trying to get an edge.

Fort Mill controlled the field in the first 10 minutes of the game trying to use the sides of the field to move the ball, but Clover's defense was just as strong in stopping them.

The Jackets had a free kick opportunity about 14 minutes into the game and tried to use some trickery with their passes, but nothing the Blue Eagles couldn't catch onto to stop them. Clover's defense double-teamed the ball handler for Fort Mill on several possession causing turnovers for the host team.

While Fort Mill didn’t play poorly, it struggled to penetrate the Blue Eagle back line. Clover struggled just as much offensively to get any clear looks at the goal through the Jackets’ defense. Clover got off its first true shot on goal with about 17 minutes left in the first half, but Fort Mill keeper Gavin McGraw was on top of things stopping the shot. The Blue Eagles also had a window of opportunity on a corner kick during the first half, but still failed to make the most of it. The Jackets also had the same opportunity on a corner kick with about eight minutes left in the first half, but didn't score.

The second half started much like the first had with both teams trying to get their offenses going, only to have the defense be the story of the game. Clover controlled possession early on in the second half, but as the half wore on both teams tried traded offensive opportunities.

Turning point

With about two minutes left in overtime, Fort Mill got a foul call against them setting up a Clover penalty kick which Watkins converted for the Blue Eagles in the only score of the game.

Critical

Defense for both schools played a critical role in the game. There were not many shots on goal, simply because of the defensive stalemate the two squads battled too.

With about four minutes left in the game in overtime, Fort Mill though they scored off a corner kick. The referee initially signaled a goal, but then took the goal away after talking with his assistants. That would have given Fort Mill the 1-0 lead and gave them a huge momentum swing.

Star contributions

McGraw played well in goal for Fort Mill coming up with roughly a handful of saves against Clover.

On deck

Now at 0-2 in region play, Fort Mill now travels to Rock Hill next week still in search of their first region win. They host Nation Ford April 4.

This story was originally published March 27, 2017 at 11:25 AM with the headline "Watkins’ OT goal pushes Clover past Fort Mill."