Signal Mountain senior Sam Eldridge placed the soccer ball on the right side of the midfield line and knew he had to create a scoring opportunity for the Eagles in Thursday’s District 8-2A championship game.
Eldridge did exactly that as he blasted his free kick right on target and deep into the box, where the ball glanced off sophomore teammate Andrew Baker’s head, then went off another teammate’s back and right into the wheelhouse of junior Yuji Steele, who sent it home.
The pinball goal broke a scoreless tie in the 51st minute and helped propel the Eagles to a memorable 2-0 home win over East Ridge.
“You could feel the pressure building, and we had to find a way to break that pressure,” Eldridge said. “We were thinking, man, we have to get one in the goal here. To help us get on the board there was awesome. Our team has just three seniors, but we try our best to lead a young team that is going to be good for a while.”
Signal Mountain (15-2-1) extended its winning streak to seven matches with the help of fellow senior leaders Holt Carlson and Owen Walker, the team’s keeper. Carlson, Eldridge and Walker were all-district selections this season, along with freshman Marc Bauer.