Nathan Johnson’s bicycle kick in the 60th minute was the lone goal in Signal Mountain’s 1-0 defensive win over the CSAS Patriots on Tuesday night, as the Eagles continued their dominant run to start the season.
Johnson’s goal came after a stalemate in the first half that saw minimal chances on both sides to attack. But, midway through the half, Johnson was in prime position on a Signal Mountain corner kick to score.
“I thought Yuji (Steele) was going to get a piece of it. He jumped and it bounced off his feet, but it was something crazy and it bounced around,” said Signal Mountain head coach Richard Northcutt. “He (Johnson) just put his laces on it.”
The goal stunned the CSAS defense, who limited Signal Mountain’s chances up to that point.
“It stinks to lose 1-0 off a corner kick,” said CSAS head coach Wes Castle about the goal. “It was like we froze and let it go through.”
The goal was one of three shots on goal by the Eagles throughout the entire 80 minutes, but they did something the Patriots could not—make shots matter. CSAS would collect twice the number of shots on goal, with only mere inches of being a goal on multiple occasions but could not get on the scoreboard in the end.
“We looked really strong in the last 14 minutes,” added Castle. “We have to string together a full 80 minutes of attacking. We are still figuring out our wings and forwards, but we will get there.”
All credit goes to the back line of the Signal Mountain defense led by goalkeeper Owen Walker. The defense only allowed for one breakaway shot by the Patriots which sailed left of the goal. Walker nearly entered double digits in saves in the contest.
“Owen (Wilson) is a senior and does great. We have confidence with him back there,” said Northcutt. “Charlie (Griffen), Cole (Jenkins) and Sam Eldridge did a great job. They had to take care of a lot of stuff back there, and we dodged some bullets.”
The Eagles are more than happy to have returned to Northshore with the win. Their record has improved to 6-1 on the season with a chance to reach seven wins against Ooltewah on Thursday. As for the Patriots, they fall to 4-2 as their sights are aimed at East Hamilton for Thursday night.
Game Summary
SIGNAL MOUNTAIN 0 1 — 1
CSAS 0 0 — 0
Goal Scorer: Signal Mountain (1): Nathan Johnson