Jim Walker
jim.walker@irontontribune.com

SOUTH POINT — One big tie and one big win.
The South Point Pointers’ soccer team tied the Johnson Central Eagles 1-1 on Monday and got a big 4-3 Ohio Valley Conference win over the Chesapeake Panthers on Tuesday.
On Monday, the Pointers dominated the first half and used a goal by Tanner Runyon with an assist from Josh Helton to take a 1-0 lead at the 17-minute mark of the first half.
But Johnson Central controlled the game in the second half and tied the game on an unassisted goal by Sawyer Crum with 45:00 on the clock.
Pointers’ coach Zach Jenkins said the Eagles executed their game plan well, but he said his team lost some of its intensity and energy in the second half.
“The second half was a total reversal. We held a decisive advantage as far as speed, but give them credit. They defend very well. They don’t get themselves out of position a whole lot and they don’t gamble,” said Jenkins.
“If you had to name MVPs for this one it would probably go to each of our keepers. Xander and Tate
“If you had to name MVP’s in this one it probably goes to each keeper. Xander and Tate (Cox) both made critical saves, at times in one-on-one opportunities.”
There was no rest for the Pointers as they went right back to work on Tuesday and the tough game against Johnson Central took its toll.
“You could tell we had some tired legs, but give the guys credit. They gutted this one out,” said Jenkins. “We played a lot of different guys for extended minutes that they normally don’t see on varsity.”
The Pointers took a 1-0 lead two minutes into the game when Levi Lawson scored an unassisted goal.
Chesapeake came back to tie the game 4 minutes later as Jacob Spears scored with an assist from Lucas Shepherd only to have Joey Bloebaum scored with an assist from Josh Helton at the 12-minute mark and it was 2-1 at the half.
The lead went to 4-1 as Helton scored with an assist from Bloebaum at the 52-minute mark of the second half, and then Logan Southall fed Tanner Runyon for a goal with 74:00 on the clock.
“Bloebaum, Jackson, Helton, Lawson and Southall did a really solid job of staying patient and finding openings in their defense. They executed really well, especially early in the second half in drawing defenders and finding those runs behind the defense,” said Jenkins.
Chesapeake closed the game with a goal by Shepherd at the 77-minute mark with an assist from Jake Anderson and then two minutes later Anderson got an assist from Spears and it was 4-3.
Pointers’ goalkeeper Xander Dornon had 9 saves as did Chesapeake goalie Eli Hayton.
“Once we again we faced a keeper who made some really nice saves to keep us from stretching our lead out even further,” said Jenkins.
South Point (6-2-1, 3-1) visits Rock Hill on Thursday.
Monday’s Game
Johnson Central 0 1 = 1
South Point 1 0 = 1
First Half
SP – Tanner Runyon (assist Josh Helton) 17:00
Second Half
JC – Sawyer Crum (unassisted) 45:00
Statistics
Corner kicks – Johnson Central 2, South Point 5
Goalkeeper saves – Johnson Central: Tate Cox 15; South Point: Xander Dornon 8
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Tuesday’s Game
South Point 2 2 = 4
Chesapeake 1 2 = 3
First Half
SP – Levi Lawson (unassisted) 2:00
Ch – Jacob Spears (assist Lucas Shepherd) 6:00
SP – Joey Bloebaum (assist Josh Helton) 12:00
Second Half
SP – Josh Helton (assist Joey Bloebaum) 52:00
SP – Tanner Runyon (assist Logan Southahll) 74:00
Ch – Lucas Shepherd (assist Jake Anderson) 77:00
Ch – Jake Anderson (assist Jacob Spears) 79:00
Statistics
Corner kicks – South Point 5, Chesapeake 7
Goalkeeper saves –South Point: Xander Dornon 9; Chesapeake: Eli Hayton 9