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Saints soccer march off to hot start
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Jaxon Humphrey dribbles down the pitch with a Cumberland United defender in pursuit. The Saints blasted Crossville 5-2 for a conference win. - photo by Duane Sherrill

The DeKalb Middle School Saints soccer team is off to a hot start, carrying a 3-1 record into this week.

With much of their season on the road thus far, the Saints found road success for much of March, making a single stop to their home pitch against Cumberland United – a game the Saints pounded their conference foe, 5-2. Cumberland United gave up their first goal in the first minute of the game with a shot off of Brandon Silva’s left foot accounting for the goal. Saints Forward David Suastgui then scored on a header giving the home standing Saints a 2-0 lead. However, Cumberland United would not step aside as they scored a goal leaving the Saints with 2-1 lead at halftime. After some halftime adjustments, the Saints came out on fire and won a 5-2 victory. Goals were scored by Brandon Silva, Mario Matias, Yair Mata, David Suastgui, and Yair Mata.The JV lost 1-0.

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Andrew Tramel makes a throw-in for the Saints who started their season with a 3-1 record, losing only to Algood. - photo by Duane Sherrill

The home win came after the Saints opened their season on the road at Central Magnet in Murfreesboro. After the Saints controlled the ball much of the first half, Miguel Mata put one in the back of the net to give the Saints a one-goal lead at half time.  Mario Matias scored the final goal of the game early in the second half for the 2-0 win.  The JV ended in a nil-nil tie.

Rain played havoc on the Saints’ schedule for much of the early season, giving them two weeks off before they returned to the pitch. The time off didn’t hurt Yair Mata as he scored a hat trick at Thurman Francis in Smyrna to lift his team to a 5-1 win. Miguel Mata and Brandon Silva also had goals. The JV lost 1-0.

The Saints’ only loss of the season came in a defensive tilt at Algood Middle where defenders Ashton Campbell, Andrew Tramel and Cooper Brown silenced the Redskins’ for most of the game, the only score being a second half goal by their hosts. The goal was enough for Algood to win the conference battle, 1-0. The JV fell 4-0.

The Saints will take to the road again after playing host to Warren County this Tuesday to compete in the Red Raider Invitational in Manchester April 5-6.