The Black Knights earned another win on the pitch Monday night after outlasting Providence Academy 5-2.
It wasn’t an easy first half for Chuckey-Doak. They either trailed or remained tied up until the second half. They were able to net four goals in the latter that elevated them and fueled them to victory.
Three combined goals from the Rojas brothers helped their case in the end. Marcos netted two and Jesus provided one to give them the edge.
The final score showed a lot of improvement from their first matchup. The Black Knights claimed a 2-1 win over Providence in the Smoky Mountain Cup at the beginning of the season. Chuckey-Doak’s home-field advantage played a huge part in tonight’s matchup with a larger surface to play on.
“We don’t play super well on small fields. We like to spread it out. We like to use our speed. We like space. We don’t like cramped fields and the field we played them on was very cramped and we could not get the offense going,” Head Coach Corey Braithwaite said. “Our field is a little bit bigger than we played them on before.”
Providence took the first lead of the contest in the 12th minute of action. A perfectly-placed punt from Andrew Cunningham soared over Chuckey-Doak’s defense and landed near a streaking John Ingram. He’d race towards the goal and sneak one by Levi Wirt to put his team up 1-0.
The Black Knights quickly regained their composure and went back on the attack. Jonathan Brenes tied it up in the 19th minute with a quick strike just inside the penalty box.
They’d have plenty more opportunities come their way in the first half, but weren’t able to punch any in. Ethan Grindstaff had two close calls in the 27th and 28th minutes. Rio Little directed a near-perfect shot to the top right corner that Cunningham saved just in time.
Both teams sat tied 1-1 going into the half.
In one of the wildest moments you’ll see in soccer, John Ingram scored a goal from midfield mere seconds after the whistle was blown for the second half kickoff.
Things only picked up from there as the Black Knights scored two goals in the next four minutes to capture their first lead.
Ethan Grindstaff tied the game at 2-2 two minutes later. Marcos Rojas then scored on a pin-balled rebound to put them ahead 3-2.
“We had a corner and it kinda bounced around and came to him. He’s had another goal like that this season,” Coach Braithwaite stated “That’s why we want him there.”
Providence came close to tying it with a bullet off the crossbar.
Jesus Rojas provided an insurance goal for the Black Knights and handed them a comfortable 4-2 lead late in the game. A mistake made by Andrew Cunningham proved to be too costly for Providence Academy. The goalie made a pass to his defense that was intercepted by Rojas and ended up in the back of the net.
“Jesus gets goals when we need goals,” Braithwaite expressed. “He performs very well under pressure.”
His brother Marcos delivered his second goal of the night with only two minutes to go to put the final nail in the coffin and seal their win.
Chuckey-Doak persevered to claim a 5-2 win in the end.
“When they got that kickoff goal to start the half, who knows how we’re going to respond. We got two goals within the next four minutes and it just kinda rolled from there,” Braithwaite mentioned.
The Black Knights return to action Thursday night with a road contest against Tennessee High.
