STARKVILLE — Score lines are important in telling the story of a game, but they aren’t the be-all, end-all. Context is important, even in lopsided matches such as Starkville Academy’s 8-0 win over Heritage Academy. The Volunteers boys won big, and they deserved their goals against a less experienced Patriots team, but that shouldn’t discount the work that they put into their victory.
The Vols pressed well and kept their heads in a frustrating first half where many chances were stopped by the Patriots defense or goalkeeper. Early on, the chances fell awkwardly, with crosses being challenged by the keeper or falling behind the runners.
The Vols set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, playing with a No. 10 in midfield ahead of a double pivot. The pivot players sat a bit deeper at the base of possession when the team was attacking, and they distributed the ball out wide to build attacking chances. The Patriots played with their midfielders mostly in defensive positions, occupying space in front of the center of their goal and helping to defend crosses played in the air.
What made things more difficult for the Patriots was the Vols’ ability to press in midfield and keep the ball with their creators. Their No. 10 in both shirt number and position, Hayden Parrish, played just behind center forward Jackson Walters. He did well in support, occupying the forward position when Walters shifted over to assist the wingers, and he was essentially a second forward with how much the Vols pushed the ball forward.
Towards the end of the second half, Parrish was the one to give the Vols the breakthrough. His positioning made him a good target for the wingers, and his composure allowed him to shake defenders and finish past Garrison Reedy, the Patriots goalkeeper who was playing a near perfect game to that point.
Walters and Nathan Miller offered plenty in buildup and worked well off of Parrish to create chances before getting goals themselves in a runaway second-half performance.
The goals flowed in the second half — six to be precise — and the game was well decided by then. Heritage had to resort to long balls forward to try and create danger of their own, but any space they left by stretching the field was quickly exploited by the Vols when the ball went back in their hands.
“We did a decent job creating chances,” Starkville Academy coach Chris Doss said, “just a couple of the crosses went a little too shallow toward the goalkeeper, who has got a bit of quality. I think after the first two goals maybe the nerves went away, and also maybe Heritage’s spirits went down a little, but it was a much better second half from us. We were more clinical, we finished our chances, it was a big difference.”
It was a disciplined performance against a team that was doing well at first to slow the Vols down, but they avoided getting bogged down in a parked-bus game thanks to their dominance of possession and persistence going forward and taking chances.
The Vols have one more regular-season game left, a senior night matchup with Bayou Academy on Monday, before they face Pillow Academy in the MAIS playoffs.
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