Eagles fall to Maryville 4-0

By Kimberly Hood

The Eagles soccer team suffered their first loss of the season, falling to Maryville 4-0 at home Tuesday night.
Seymour took a hard blow early when sweeper Nathan Drain went down with an injury just a little over five minutes into the game. The Eagles were then forced to move one of their best forwards, Jacob Lindsey, back to defense. Lindsey has scored five goals in two games, so taking him out of the offense was a hard hit for Seymour.
Despite the loss of their sweeper, Seymour held the Rebels scoreless for the majority of the first half, with the defense playing hard and dodging a few bullets along the way. However, with a little over five left in the half, Maryville finally converted on a ball that bounced around inside the eighteen before being driven into the back of the net by a Rebel attacker.
Seymour was not disheartened by the goal, but instead, picked up their pace, immediately driving the ball inside the Rebels' eighteen, but having to settle for a long shot that was easily collected by the Maryville keeper.
Time soon ran out on their effort, and the Eagles headed into the break trailing Maryville by one.
Maryville didn't wait long before striking again in the second half, scoring on a breakaway three minutes in. The shot was nearly picked off by Seymour keeper Ryan Broome, however, he couldn't quite get out in time, and the Maryville attacker and his shot got up and over the diving Broome.
Maryville found the back of the net again to up 3-0 with fifteen to go, connecting on a header from a corner kick.
Seymour had a quality chance with 7:00 left in the game when the Rebels were whistled for a foul 22 yards out in front of the goal, but the Maryville keeper came up with a big save to keep the Eagles scoreless.
The Rebels would add one more to their tally in the waning seconds, knocking in a long, bending shot from 20 yards out.
The Eagles' defense did a good job of fending off Maryville attacks, but Seymour had a hard time keeping the ball in their offensive third, getting only two quality shots on goal in the game.
"Everything was countered," said Coach Bobby Norman. "We have to learn how to settle the ball at the half line and then work our way up. There's no linking up there. They really dominated us in the middle third."
However, despite the loss and the breakdown of the midfield, Norman was pleased overall with his team's performance.
 "We had some guys step up and play really well tonight, but we just had some bad luck. And we're talking Maryville – they're pretty quality. They're a big school, and they went to the state tournament last year, but that's why we played them – to get better. That's what it's all about," said Norman.
The Eagles will be back on the pitch Friday when they host Cosby during an in-school game at 1:30.