Despite racing out to an early lead, the Buckhannon-Upshur High School soccer Buccaneers couldn’t hold on in a Big 10 clash with Robert C. Bryd Tuesday night, falling 2-1 on the road.
B-U’s Ryan Hurst continued to light up the scoreboard with a quick strike in just the seventh minute, taking a Dawson Carpenter pass and finishing in the upper right corner of the goal. But Khori Miles brought the game level five minutes later, collecting a long ball over the top and slotting a shot far post to even the match at 1-1.
Play settled into a back-and-forth rhythm from there. The scoreboard wouldn’t change until the 54th minute, when Miles scored his second goal of the game, this time on an assist by Jibre Helm. The score would remain at the 2-1 mark for the remainder of the match.
Despite the setback, B-U head coach Mike Donato saw his team continue to improve as the regular season enters its final stretch.
“Although we didn’t move and connect passes like we’ve done in the past few games, the team is definitely starting to see the flow and movement in the big picture,” Donato said. “Tonight our intent was there; we just had poor execution. We did get a great start with a quality goal, but Miles is too quality of a player to have to control and hold back for an entire game.”
RCB outshot the Bucs 8-3 and held a 3-0 advantage in corner kicks. Logan Kelley collected seven saves in goal for Buckhannon, while Ryan Collett had two for the Eagles. Helm received the game’s only yellow card.
The loss drops the Bucs to 5-7-2 on the season and marks the first of a five-game stretch on the road. They’ll play at Liberty on Saturday and stay on the road for games at Philip Barbour, Bridgeport and University.
B-U returns home for senior night on October 9 against the Lewis County Minutemen.
