DALTON, Ga. – Coming off an emotional, physically draining weekend, the Dalton High School boys’ soccer team was ripe for the upset, and visiting Baylor came into Harmon Field more than willing to play the spoiler.
The Catamounts, fresh off defeating three nationally ranked teams to win the Smoky Mountain Cup over the weekend (including McCallie in the final) entered Tuesday’s “friendly” match riding a 78-game unbeaten streak and sitting atop USA Today’s national soccer rankings.
The Red Raiders, though, didn’t seem to care, taking 1-0 and 2-1 leads in the first half on goals from Victor Ulmo and Gabriel Zambello. However, Dalton scored late in the half to tie the game and tallied three goals in the final nine minutes of the game to pull out a 5-2 win.
“We were concerned about this one coming off the tournament,” Dalton coach Matt Cheaves said. “After something like that it’s easy to come out and be flat. We need something to play for, and with this being a friendly there were no playoff implications. But then again, this is Baylor, a great program and a very well-coached soccer team. We definitely had to take it seriously.”
Baylor (2-4-1) had a defensive game plan centered on making sure Dalton’s electric playmaker, Isai Hernandez, would not get any free runs. The strategy worked early as the Catamounts tried to force things offensively.