Soccer
Laney 2 New Hanover 0
With both sides looking to make an early statement in Mideastern Conference play, Laney and New Hanover squared off in Buctown on Tuesday night for the first time since the 2015 4A East Regional.
Moving into the season, Tristan Nelson had big shoes to fill as the leading attacking forward for Laney after playing alongside his older brother Wesley last year. Thus far, the senior has relished the opportunity and proved his ability against the Wildcats with a pair of goals to lead Laney in a 2-0 result.
New Hanover controlled possession through the early going, but once the Bucs found their legs midway through the first half momentum started to lean towards the home side. With the opening 40 minutes winding down. Jackson Young found Nelson with some space just outside the right edge of the penalty area and the attacker one-timed a beautiful ball with his right foot over goal keeper Roman Lewis to put the Bucs in front 1-nil at the break.
Nelson added to his goal total in the 65th minute off an assist from Adrian Pinder to put the match out of reach as Laney improved to 1-0 in conference and 4-2-2 overall. Nelson has a team-high 11 goals this season. The Bucs continue a grueling week to open league play with the start of a four game road trip beginning at Ashley on Thursday, Sept. 15.
After starting the fall schedule with six straight wins, New Hanover has now dropped three straight, falling to 6-3 overall and 0-1 in conference.
Ashley 3 Topsail 0
Jacob Reeves, Josh Chapman and Cris Bautista put their names on the scoring sheet Tuesday night as the Screaming Eagles opened conference play on a high note following a 3-0 shutout against Topsail.
Timothy Parker recorded an assist for Ashley, who moved to 1-0 in league play and 3-2-1 on the year. Evan Alvarez had four saves in net, with one stop coming on a penalty kick.
Swansboro 4 Hoggard 1
Hoggard got on the board with 15 minutes remaining in the opening period, but Swansboro responded with four unanswered goals during the second half to hand the Vikings a 4-1 setback.
Corey Rickards scored the hat trick for Swansboro. Hoggard fell to 5-2-0 overall heading into their conference opener at home against Laney on Tuesday, Sept. 20.
West Brunswick 4 South Brunswick 2
Alex Younts found the back of the net with three minutes for the game-winner as West Brunswick rallied past South Brunswick 4-2 in Shallotte.
After a scoreless first half of action South Brunswick went ahead after the break, but David Reyes notched the equalizer to get the Trojans on the board. Younts put West Brunswick ahead with 15 minutes to play before the Cougars responded to tie the score, 2-2.
Younts tallied his second score of the night for the go ahead goal and Anthony Tapia buried a goal from the penalty spot in the waning minutes to secure the result.
Cape Fear Academy 8 Harrells Christian 1
Holt Robison tallied twice, while six other players found the scoring sheet as Cape Fear Academy rolled to an 8-1 result against Harrells Christian.
Ford Wright, Connor Smith, Robert Schuett, Zach Tomosunas, Eric Kanzinger and Landon Pierpan all scored goals for the Hurricanes, who improved to 3-0 in league play and 9-3 overall.
Wilmington Christian 2 Bethel Christian 0
Reese Tucker notched late in the first half and Carter Davenport added the insurance goal in the 76th minute to give Wilmington Christian a 2-nil result against Bethel Christian.
North Brunswick 8 West Bladen 4
Volleyball
New Hanover 3 Laney 2
(16-25, 25-21, 21-25, 25-20, 16-14)
Coming off a non-conference setback at home on Monday, New Hanover showed resiliency on the road Tuesday as the Wildcats outlasted Laney 3-2 in Buctown. The Wildcats came back from a set down twice in the match and dug deep for a 16-14 victory to claim the five-set thriller.
Anna Morgan led Laney from the service line with 11 aces. Hannah Freas had 14 kills to pace the Bucs attack, while Alex Erling was strong in the passing game with 30 assists. Meredith Pooley recorded 41 digs for Laney at libero.
(25-19, 22-25, 22-25, 25-17, 15-9)
Topsail rallied from down two-games-to-one to pick up their third straight result following a five-set victory at Ashley on Tuesday. The Pirates moved to 3-2 in conference and 7-3 overall.
Selena Biele led the attack with 12 kills, while Azia Anderson recorded 14 points and 19 digs. Kaylee Kaylee remained consistent in the passing game with 19 assists. Kaylee also served four aces and Makenna Preville had a team-high 27 digs.
West Brunswick 3 South Brunswick 1
(23-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-22)
