SOCCER ROUNDUP: Big week for Dublin boys; East Laurens blanked at Bleckley; West Laurens boys stay perfect

Urick Andrews put on a show with six goals out of… erm, seven… for the Dublin boys soccer team over a midweek homestand that featured two huge wins over Washington and Jefferson counties. 

Andrews scored all five as the Irish took down WACO 5-2 Tuesday night, then one of a couple in a 2-1 thriller with JeffCo to finish senior night with a bang Tuesday at the Shamrock Bowl. 

Dublin, whose girls fell 2-0 to the Golden Hawks and 1-0 to the Warriors in splits both nights, will play just one this week as it hosts Bleckley County Tuesday night. 

The Irish senior was in top form for both matches, with his elite quickness and ball skills on particular display during the second half against WACO, in which his string of four goals – just one answered by the visitors – helped them put away a a tight one. 

The first three were simple fast-break situations, as the ball was thrust ahead to find him in great spots to move into position for a shot. But Andrews’ last, a casual left-footed lob right over the top of the Golden Hawks’ goalkeeper and into an open net off a throw-in, was especially artful as he put the finishing touches on the amazing performance. 

Jashum Carswell provided three of his assists, while Dorian Carcamo and Mathias Baker set up his other two.

Both of Thursday’s goals for the Irish unfolded via similar flips of the field with Andrews streaking through Jefferson County defenders like a hot knife through butter. 

But he gave the ball up to assist the night’s opening score, shifting it wide to a teammate for a piercing shot from the right-hand side that got Dublin (3-6, 2-4 region 2-High A) on the board late in the first half. 

The Warriors would equalize five minutes after halftime on a long strike from 20 yards or more. 

But the Irish were back up by the final score not long after, as Andrews outmaneuvered five white shirts going at hyperspeed from midfield. 

He crossed up the last remaining defender before punching it to the right of a crashing goalkeeper to deliver the difference-maker. 

WACO scored once before halftime, and once after, for the final advantage in Tuesday’s match with the Lady Irish (3-8, 2-4 region). Jefferson County pinballed one in off a corner with about 15 minutes left before halftime for the only score of an even more defensive battle on Thursday. 

East Laurens came up empty in a couple of key matchups with Bleckley County Thursday, in which its girls fell 3-0 and boys 2-0. 

Freshman Braylee Cobb scored two of the Lady Royals’ three, with goalkeeper Jana Tomlin – who also recorded four saves – adding the other via penalty kick. 

Greyson Arnold, in the first half, and Will Dean, in the second, had Bleckley’s goals in the boys contest. 

East’s girls (8-7, 5-2 region 2-High A) and boys (9-5, 4-2) will visit ACE Charter this coming Thursday. 

The West Laurens boys’ unbeaten streak survived a stiff challenge on the road Tuesday as the Raiders (15-0, 11-0 region 4-AAA) defeated Harlem in a 3-2 thriller. 

They’d return to help complete a sweep of Baldwin with a 2-0 shutout on Thursday back at the SHU. 

The Westside girls (10-5, 8-3 region 4-AAA) fell 3-0 in Tuesday’s rematch with the Bulldogs, but did away with the Bravettes by the same final later in the week. 

Kylee Simmons had two of the Harlem girls’ three goals, and Kamryn Simmons the other, as Maggie Crozier offered two assists Tuesday night. 

Thursday, the Lady Raiders’ Landry Hall opened the scoring off a first-half corner kick of Malone Poole. Chandler Malone had the clincher later as she knocked one past the challenge of the Baldwin keeper on a drive off of Poole’s feed midway through the second half. 

The Harlem boys, which had a few lineup additions from the first time the teams met (likely including a few holdovers from their state basketball championship team) gave the Raiders a different look that necessitated some adjustments. 

Their defense was solid despite an early Harlem goal that would be answered later in the first half, and a breakthrough, as a subsequent West Laurens score was nullified and the teams traded one more each through the end of regulation, was elusive. The Raiders got the winner in overtime. 

“We absolutely had them dead to rights in the first half, but couldn’t put the ball in the net,” said head coach Nate Smith. “We have a target on our backs, and if twe can’t put teams away, they are very much in the game, which is a problem with teams as good as we have in our region this year.” 

Thursday, West Laurens scored first about nine minutes in as a ball played to the wing came back inside and found Jack Yearwood for a short punch-in. 

The score remained 1-0 until a Raider was tripped in the box to set up a penalty kick for Yearwood that made it 2-0. And that was the final. 

West Laurens’ teams have a region match with Richmond Academy and non-region pickup against Stratford on the schedule for this Tuesday and Thursday in the continuation of their season-ending homestand.