CRESTVIEW — Sophomore Danny Born had two goals and an assists to lead the Crestview High School boys soccer team to a 3-1 win over West Florida High on Monday at Jack Foster Stadium.
Five minutes into the opening half Born found Caleb MacDonald with an assist. MacDonald took the pass and slipped it into the right corner of the net to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead.
Crestview's protected the lead the remaining 35 minutes of the first half and well into the second half.
Bulldog Coach Scottie Milton said the team discussed the difficulty of holding the 1-0 lead at halftime.
"Everybody was saying we can't sit on this (1-0) lead," Milton said. "But sometimes that's just the nature of the game. I think we did well having the pressure and we responded well when they scored."
The Bulldogs did indeed respond to the pressure after West Florida tied the match at the 67:24 point of play as a cold rain began to fall on the stadium.
"When they got that goal I think we reacted well and got two goals," Milton said.
With time ticking off the clock, and both teams playing outstanding defense, it looked as if the match would come down to a shootout.
Any thoughts of a shootout quickly disappeared when Born scored a pair of goals in a span of 33 seconds to give the Bulldogs (2-4) the win.
Tyler Hancock had an assist on Born's first goal that came with 9:27 left to play. Born scored on a breakaway with 8:54 left to play to seal the Crestview win.
A stingy Crestview defense pressured the Jaguars most of the night as the Bulldogs allowed only seven shots on goal. Bulldog goal keeper Jared Bufkin did his part as well turning away six West Florida shots.
Miltoncredited Cameron White, Blake Brooks, Joe Ensor, Trent Simmons as some of the key defenders that helped stymie the Jaguar attack.
"We stayed pretty organized throughout the game," Milton said. "We defended very well and we were kind of relying on that."
White said the win is big for the Bulldogs as they move forward.
"It was very important that we played good defense tonight," he said. "Our first four games we lost because we were battling injuries and couldn't get anything done.
"I think the win gives us more confidence going into play Tate next Friday."
Randy Dickson is the Crestview News Bulletin’s sports editor. Email him at randyd@crestviewbulletin.com, tweet him @BigRandle, or call 682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Danny Born leads Bulldogs past Jaguars