Roundup: Scotland collapses late in 2nd half against Union Pines

LAURINBURG — For much of the second half in Tuesday’s men’s soccer game between Scotland and Union Pines, it looked as if the Scots were going to pull out their first win of the season and first Sandhills Athletic Conference victory since March 1, 2021.

However, things turned for the worst in the final 10-and-a-half minutes of play.

Union Pines’ Brady Jordan tied the game at 3-3 with 10:20 to go, and Cole Harkins scored with 6:26 remaining after Scotland goalkeeper Jack Herr slipped and fell as the Vikings defeated the Scots 4-3.

“They (Union Pines) were looking at a loss literally, and we just fell apart,” Scotland head coach Orrick McDougald said. “We just did not talk. We rotated, but we did not talk about who was rotating where, and we left the middle wide open on a couple of shots. We have to get better with communicating on our back line because we left open a lot of spaces. Our kids on the back end, they pursue a man and (don’t) pursue their areas, and it’s killing us.”

Scotland (0-3-1, 0-3 Sandhills Athletic Conference) held a 3-2 lead at halftime but struggled offensively in the second half to increase it. McDougald felt that cramps were a big reason why.

“I think a lot of the players that we needed in the game were not in the game because they were cramping, and that really killed us on the back end,” McDougald said. “Matt (White) was out for the rest of the half, almost, because of cramps. And then a couple of other ones were out because of cramps. And when they got back in the game, they started cramping up again. So, we had to put some lower-classmen in there.

“Everybody did a pretty good job that we had to put in, but when we don’t have our top players in the game, we suffer a lot. And so, a lot of times when we wanted them to pressure the ball, they wouldn’t pressure the ball. And so, that means that if we don’t pressure the ball, we don’t have opportunities at scoring. So, it kind of took us out.”

Union Pines (3-6, 1-1 SAC) scored the first goal at the 28:17 mark of the first half when Jordan succeeded on a penalty kick after Scotland’s Myles Norton was called for tripping in the penalty area. White evened the score at 1-1 less than two minutes later before Scotland took a 2-1 lead with 9:39 to go before halftime after a free kick by Norton was caught but dropped by Union Pines goalkeeper Maddox Mari, which led to Jake Tew kicking the ball into the net for the goal.

Just over two minutes later, Union Pines made it a 2-2 score after a goal from Jake Binson. But with the first half winding down, White found himself in open space and kicked the ball past Mari for his second goal of the night with time expiring.

“I told him (White) today that we would start off being the most aggressive team,” McDougald said. “And we were going to try to set the tone, and we did. But when he did that, I told the bench, I said, ‘Listen, y’all (are) the energy. I’m not calling you cheerleaders, but y’all need to give our team some energy.’ And they did; it just fell short a little bit. But I’m super proud of them. It’s the best I’ve seen them play since I’ve been coaching them. And I think a lot of the fans are saying the same thing, too. We just lost a tough one.”

The Scots play at Red Springs on Thursday in nonconference play. Scotland and Red Springs tied 1-1 in Scotland’s opener on Aug. 23.

“We can’t hold our heads down … because it’ll transition into Thursday,” McDougald said. “We come in tomorrow; we work on what we need to work on. I told them we could play with anybody. Pinecrest or anybody, but we’ve got to believe in that. And right now, we’re starting to believe.”

Scotland volleyball falls to Pinecrest

The Scotland volleyball team fell in four sets to the Pinecrest Patriots Tuesday night in Laurinburg. Pinecrest (8-5, 4-0 Sandhills Athletic Conference) won the first two sets with scores of 25-19 and 25-22, Scotland (5-4, 2-1 SAC) took the third set 25-20, and the Patriots closed the match with a 25-21 victory in the fourth set.

Addison Johnson had 19 kills, nine digs, and three aces for the Lady Scots. Reagan Malpass, Emerie Snuggs, and Ramsey Hale each had three kills, Nateya Scott had seven digs, Lindsay Locklear had four digs, and Madison Dixon had three aces.

The Lady Scots play Lee County in Sanford on Thursday.

Scotland women’s tennis goes down to Richmond

After their season was postponed due to not having a coach, the Scotland women’s tennis team and new head coach Charles Smith faced the Richmond Raiders in Laurinburg on Tuesday. Going through a lightning delay that paused the start, the Lady Scots put up a valiant effort but couldn’t come pull out the win as the Raiders (2-2, 2-2 Sandhills Athletic Conference) came out on top 7-2.

In singles play, Neely Turner (Richmond) knocked off Shay Ward (Scotland) with an 8-0 win, Hanna Smith (Richmond) defeated Arabia Nimetullah (Scotland) with an 8-0 result, Jentry Denson (Richmond) beat Jacquelyn Rankin (Scotland) with a score of 8-3, and Colbie Covington (Richmond) won against Marissa Smith (Scotland) with an 8-1 score.

Scotland’s Maleah Locklear and Rhea Truesdell also competed in singles action and each earned wins; Locklear defeated Richmond’s Madi Grimes 8-3, and Truesdell defeated Ella Scott 8-6.

In doubles competition, Turner and Smith shutout Ward and Nimetullah 8-0, Grimes and Denson bested Locklear and Rankin 8-6, and Scott and Covington downed Truesdell and Carmen Taylor 8-2.

Scotland plays again on Thursday at Hoke County.