LAURINBURG — Not quite the start the Fighting Scots soccer team wanted.
Wednesday, the Scots dropped their regular-season home opener to the Union Pines Vikings, 5-2, after the game was postponed on Tuesday due to weather.
The game displayed the old saying of “bend but don’t break,” but the only difference was the Scots broke in the second half. Nathan Ward’s penalty kick made the score 1-1, and it would remain so heading into halftime.
The Scots continued to display their grit, but it wouldn’t last long. Jackson Hernandez’s penalty kick cut the deficit to 3-2, but that would be all she wrote for Scotland. The Vikings added two more goals as the Scots struggled to find the back of the net and could not hold their composure as Dakota Locklear was shown a red card and will miss the next game.
“A lot of mistakes in the second half,” head coach Jeremy White said. “It’s the same mistakes we were dealing with last season. Struggling to control the middle of the field and not being aggressive on the attack.”
“Union Pines points came off the mistakes we made. We need to learn how to play through the officiating; once we don’t get a call, we go and retaliate. As a team, we have to trust each other and communicate if we want to win Thursday.”
Ward and Locklear were the only scorers for the Scots; goalkeeper Andrew Medlock made 15 saves.
Scotland (0-1) will be right back in action Thursday at home versus South View at 6 p.m.