GATLINBURG – Chuckey-Doak competed in the District 1-A Championship at Gatlinburg-Pittman High School on Thursday night and came up just short in a 3-2 loss to the Highlanders in an exciting 80 minutes of soccer.
The Black Knights seemed out of it early, but they would not back down easily. Gatlinburg-Pittman had all the momentum early with two goals in the first half, but some halftime adjustments and high-intensity plays changed the momentum and gave Chuckey-Doak new life in the second half.
“It was a heck of a game. The second half was a great bash. I told them to go ahead and just play 40 minutes and that’s what we did,” Chuckey-Doak Head Coach Steven Neesen stated.
A quick goal by Miquel Benitez in the 41st minute closed the gap and had Chuckey-Doak pushing for a tie for the rest of the half.
A goal by G-P in the 69th minute seemingly took the wind out of everybody’s sails, but a late goal from Adler Hawkins in the 78th set up an exciting finish. Chuckey-Doak wasn’t able to put one in the back of the net to tie it and force overtime and the Highlanders survived to claim the crown.
“They were fantastic goals. They were beautifully placed and well shot outside of the sixteen. It was a good game. I enjoyed it. We’ll probably see them again hopefully. We’re looking forward to Tuesday’s game,” Coach Neesen said.
After the loss Chuckey-Doak is now 9-7-1 on the year and will compete in next week’s Region 1-1A Tournament, traveling to Eagleton on Tuesday night.
The game started off rocky for the boys in black and gold. Kevin Escalante scored in the ninth minute to put Gatlinburg-Pittman ahead early and Isaac Cruz scored in the 24th minute to extend that lead to 2-0.
The lead stayed at 2-0 going into halftime. The Black Knights struggled to find any momentum on offense and only had two shots on goal the entire first half. But the defense was beginning to improve and helped keep the game close. After giving up a pair of goals early the Black Knight defense held G-P scoreless for 45 minutes.
“The defense has been great all season. Never had to worry about the defensive side of it because those four are solid,” Coach Neesen mentioned.
Halftime was spent making adjustments and communicating what needed to be fixed. Chuckey-Doak was quick to burst out of the gate with intensity in the second half and it paid off.
Miquel Benitez fired a shot into the back of the net and closed the gap to 2-1 in the 41st minute.
The Black Knights got multiple shots off and did a good job at gaining control of the possession and controlling the tempo. It felt like Chuckey-Doak was about to come through at any moment with a game-tying goal. But Gatlinburg-Pittman got one first.
Nahun Estrada scored in the 69th minute to give the Highlanders a 3-1 lead in the closing minutes.
The game wasn’t over yet though. Adler Hawkins sent a shot scorching past the keeper and closed the gap back to one goal at 3-2 in the 78th minute.
Chuckey-Doak tried to piece together a run and tie the game in the final two minutes, but couldn’t find any success.
Gatlinburg-Pittman survived and held on to defeat Chuckey-Doak 3-2 and win the District 1-A Championship.
The Black Knights move on to the Region 1-A Tournament next and travel to play Eagleton on Tuesday.
“We haven’t been there for a while. It’s good to see Chuckey-Doak move on. I’ve always said these guys are a great team and can do a lot. They just have to believe in themselves and just make it happen,” Coach Neesen said.
