LAURINBURG — Scotland’s boys soccer team has taken some steps forward in Blake Dickerson’s second year as head coach.
The team’s 3-10-1 record doesn’t prove that point, but their execution does. The Scots have been able to control possession for extended periods of time and put consistent pressure on defenses — things they struggled with last season.
There are still plenty of things that need to be cleaned up on offense and defense. Passing, first touches and defensive consistency are some of the things Dickerson wants his team to continue to work on throughout the final five games of the season.
“I want to see a stronger finish, as far as the shot goes,” Dickerson said. “We have a lot of shots that are not on target.
“And our timing is definitely another issue that we’re running into,” he added. “Sometimes we keep the ball too long on our foot, and the types of runs we’re making just fall flat.”
Four of Scotland’s final five games are on the road, and two of those games are against the top teams in the Sandhills Athletic Conference. The Scots travel to Hoke (13-2, 8-0 SAC) this Wednesday, and they visit Pinecrest (14-2, 8-1 SAC) next Wednesday.
“(Hoke) beat Pinecrest, so I think they’re going to be the top dogs in our conference this year.”
In their first meeting with Pinecrest, the Scots held the Patriots to one first-half goal before yielding seven more in the second half of an 8-0 loss at home. At home against Hoke, the Scots displayed impressive resiliency on defense despite losing 2-0.
The rest of Scotland’s schedule consists of a game at Seventy-First on Monday, a home game against Lumberton on Oct. 21 and their season finale at Richmond on Oct. 23. Scotland defeated Seventy-First 4-3 at home earlier this season.
