Bohemia Manor Eagles defeat Tome Titans 3-1

By Kevin Phillips

CHESAPEAKE CITY–Bo- hemia Manor overcame a nervy first 20 minutes of its season opening boys’ soccer tilt with visiting Tome School to dominate possession and create several scoring chances for most of the first half but could not find the back of the net.

That changed in the second half as the Eagles scored three times in the final 40 minutes to earn a 3-1 victory over the Titans Wednesday afternoon.

“We controlled the ball. (Tome) got a little bit tired. They are not as deep as we were. We tried to get them to press. The shots didn’t go in,” Bo Manor head coach Andy Mitchell said. “We had a ridiculous number of shots today. We have to improve that average, three goals on 20 plus shots. I think we got over those first game jitters and survived those first 20 minutes. Being able to put the ball together and control it is kind of the way we wanted to end that half anyway. I was pretty pleased with the way we played the whole game.”

After a scoreless first half, the Eagles struck quickly in the second half, scoring just 38 seconds in to take the lead when Gavin McKew headed in a shot from short range.

Bo Manor added to its lead 14 minutes later when Isaiah Carpenter deposited a McKew pass into the net to make it 2-0, but Tome responded less than a minute later when Jacob Herrera scored to make it 2-1.

Alex Parke capped the scoring in the game’s 67th minute when he whipped a long range shot into the net to make it 3-1, and that would be the score for the remainder of the game. Mitchell felt like the Eagles were better able to apply the basics in the second half than they did in the first, and that led to their three-goal output in the final 40 minutes.

“We had been talking about some things for weeks leading up to this first game, and we did some of them in pockets in the first half,” Mitchell said. “At halftime, we talked about the fundamental things like stepping to the ball, making sure you’re open and making space. I think that happened quicker in the second half than it did in the second half.”

While Bo Manor picked up the victory in its first game of the season, McKew knows that the Eagles have to be more assertive with possession if they want to continue the success.

“We have to be more aggressive,” McKew said. “We’ll definitely need to be more aggressive. I feel like we need to go to the ball more.”

Cecil College men’s soccer wins first game since 2018

ANNANDALE, Va. - Akeil

John’s second-half strike secured Cecil Men’s Soccer their first win in nearly four years, as the Seahawks took down the Northern Virginia Nighthawks, 2-1, on the road Thursday afternoon.

Cecil’s last win was back on September 18, 2018, when they defeated Allegany College of Maryland by the same 2-1 score, but in double overtime. The Seahawks’ 2020 and 2021 seasons were cancelled due to the pandemic.

The Seahawks outshot NOVA 13-4 in the first half yet found themselves trailing 1-0 after 18 minutes, thanks to an early NOVA goal. Cecil finally tied the game with its first goal of the season from Ben Prest in the 36 th minute of play.

The Nighthawks reversed course and outshot the Seahawks in the final 45 minutes (9-3). However, Cecil would find the game-winner on an Akeil John shot that found the back of the net in the 81st minute. A headed shot from NOVA three minutes later was saved by Aidan Hayes, his eighth and final stop of the match. The Nighthawks sailed their final contest attempt over the crossbar in the 88 th minute of play. Cecil moves to 1-1 on the year with the victory.