LONDON — South Laurel entered Tuesday’s matchup with hopes of upsetting defending 13th Region champion Oneida Baptist, but struggled on offense leading to the Mountaineers’ 5-0 win.
Led by Hero Khajohnsupawatchara and Nahom Yuna’s two-goals apiece effort along with a goal by teammate Enrique Gabardo, Oneida Baptist improved to 8-2 while the Cardinals fell to 4-3.
“I have to give them credit,” Oneida Baptist coach Hunter House said. “They came in very organized and were difficult to break down. They caused us some problems the first half but we were able to find a counter attacking goal late in the first half to put us up 1-0.
“That gave us confidence going into the second and allowed us to open the game up,” he added. “Proud of the boys but we know we have to be better. We have some time to get back to the training ground before our next match.”
South Laurel coach Brooks Cawood said his team I think knew they were facing a potent attack from their midfield and strikers.
“I thought we had some good opportunities to score but we just haven’t gotten our shots where they need to be,” he said. “Despite the loss, I’m proud of our guys playing until the final whistle.
“We still have a lot of growth for our squad but we face a tough Pulaski team on Thursday,” Cawood added. “Credit to OBI, we were down 1-0 at the half and they just came out on top by playing fast and disciplined attacks that we just were not able to adjust to.”
