LONDON — Reilly Stuber scored twice while Zach Jacobs added two goals as North Laurel pulled away in the second half to defeat Oneida Baptist, 5-1.
The Jaguars controlled possession early but weren’t as sharp offensively as coach David Broyles wanted following a layoff between games. Stuber eventually broke through midway through the first half before Cam Anderson converted a penalty kick drawn by Malik Turner to send North Laurel into halftime with a 2-0 lead.
“We possessed the ball well tonight, but I felt we were slow with our possession,” Broyles said. “I felt that the layoff between games affected our offense and we were just a little off where we had been. We finally got on the board when Reilly Stuber scored midway through the first half. Cam Anderson connected on a PK that Malik Turner had drawn to give us a 2-0 lead at the half.”
North Laurel picked up its pace following halftime, but Oneida Baptist made things interesting by scoring off a corner kick that the Jaguars failed to clear, trimming the lead to 2-1.
“We made some adjustments in the second half and came out at a better pace but still struggled to find the back of the net,” Broyles said. “OBI scored off a corner that we failed to clear to get them within a goal, but from there I felt we took over the game.”
The Jaguars responded with three unanswered goals. Stuber set up Jacobs, who blasted a shot from 25 yards into the net to restore North Laurel’s two-goal advantage. Turner added another after gaining possession of a loose ball and working his way toward goal.
North Laurel struck again immediately following the kickoff. The Jaguars forced a turnover, and Jacobs found Stuber with a through ball that Stuber finished to complete the 5-1 victory.
“Reilly Stuber assisted Zach Jacobs who hit a 25-yard screamer into the back of the net,” Broyles said. “Just a few minutes later Malik Turner took a loose ball and found his way to the goal. Then on the kickoff we were able to turn OBI over and Zach Jacobs hit Reilly with a through ball that he put in the back of the net to make the final 5-1.”
The victory also secured the No. 1 seed in the district tournament for North Laurel.
“This game gave us a lot to work on moving forward as we finish up the regular season,” Broyles said. “We were able to secure the number 1 seed for the district tournament and need to use that to our advantage when the time comes.”
