As good as Salem’s soccer teams have been in the past few years, Blacksburg continues to be a pain in the . . . side. On Tuesday both Salem teams lost to the Bruins, with the boys falling 4-1 in the Blacksburg and the girls losing 3-0 at Spartan Field.
Blacksburg scored on four set plays to beat the boys. Anthony Rugama’s goal tied the score at 1-1 in the first half but the Bruins answered for a 2-1 lead at the half and outscored Salem 2-0 after intermission.
The loss dropped the boys to 7-5 on the year, including a 5-2 win over Cave Spring last Friday on Spartan Field. Elijah Clark opened the scoring on a corner kick, assisted by Logan Lavinder, then TJ Fisher scored on a set piece, assisted by Lavinder, to put Salem up 2-1 at the break.
In the second half Joseph Serrano scored off a Clark corner kick and Elijah added a goal, assisted by Graham Cross. Fisher finished off the scoring by converting a penalty kick.
The girls are 6-6 after Cave Spring ended Salem’s three game winning streak with a 4-1 decision at Cave Spring last Friday. Emma Elder scored Salem’s goal.
On Tuesday keeper Karis Guy kept the girls in the game against Blacksburg but the Spartans weren’t able to find the twine in the shutout loss.
Both teams are back in action tonight with the girls in Danville to take on George Washington High and the boys’ hosting the Eagles on Spartan Field. On Friday the girls are home to host Hidden Valley for “Senior Night” and the boys are at Hidden Valley for a game on Bruce Mahan Field.
